2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Beguiristain
Of Basque origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place named Begiri or Beguiri.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Beguiristain. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beguiristain surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Beguiristain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beguiristain, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beguiristain
The surname BEGUIRISTAIN originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France, dating back to the early medieval period. The name likely stems from the Basque words "begi," meaning "eye," and "iri," meaning "town" or "village," combined with the common Basque locative suffix "-stain." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person from a place called "Eye Town" or a similar variant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BEGUIRISTAIN surname appears in a 13th-century cartulary from the Monastery of Santa María la Real in Nájera, La Rioja, Spain. This document mentions a landowner named Lope de Beguiristain, who was involved in a property dispute with the monastery.
In the 15th century, the BEGUIRISTAIN name can be found in various records from the Kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon, indicating that the family had spread throughout the Basque territories. One notable figure from this period was Juan de Beguiristain, a military commander who fought alongside King Juan II of Aragon during the Catalonian Rebellion of 1462-1472.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the BEGUIRISTAIN family achieved prominence in the fields of law, academia, and clergy. Among them were Pedro de Beguiristain (1525-1597), a renowned jurist and professor of canon law at the University of Salamanca, and Martín de Beguiristain (1583-1649), a Basque Franciscan friar and theologian who authored several influential treatises on moral philosophy.
In the 18th century, the BEGUIRISTAIN surname gained international recognition through the accomplishments of Juan Bautista de Beguiristain (1720-1789), a Spanish-Basque navigator and explorer. He served as a captain in the Spanish Royal Navy and led several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, contributing to the mapping and exploration of regions such as the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands.
Another notable figure was María Antonia de Beguiristain (1782-1848), a Basque noblewoman and prominent figure in the Spanish court of King Ferdinand VII. She held the prestigious title of Marquesa de Espeja and played an influential role in the political and social affairs of her time.
While the BEGUIRISTAIN surname originated in the Basque region, it has since spread to other parts of Spain and beyond due to migration and diaspora. However, its earliest recorded instances and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of the Basque people and their ancestral territories.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beguiristain
Among Census respondents with the surname Beguiristain, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Beguiristain bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Beguiristain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.3% · 88
- White13.7% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beguiristain
Beguiristain appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+20 bearers (+19.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,196 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-23 bearers (-18.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 20,043 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +20 bearers (+19.0%) | Up 10,196 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -23 bearers (-18.4%) | Down 20,043 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Beguiristain surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #134,712 | #154,755 | -14.9% |
| Count | 125 | 102 | -18.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beguiristain bearers went from 125 to 102 (-18.4% change). The surname moved down 20,043 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #154,755.
FAQ
Beguiristain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beguiristain?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Beguiristain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Beguiristain?
Beguiristain ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Beguiristain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Beguiristain.
Has Beguiristain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beguiristain went from 125 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 23 (-18.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Beguiristain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beguiristain, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Beguiristain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beguiristain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.3%), White (13.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Beguiristain (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Beguiristain mean?
Of Basque origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place named Begiri or Beguiri. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Beguiristain (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Beguiristain?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.