Find out how popular the last name Cuya is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cuya.

Cuya, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cuya surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cuya in America

Cuya is the 111426th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cuya surname appeared 158 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cuya.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cuya to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cuya

The surname CUYA has its origins in Spain, specifically in the Basque region. It is believed to have emerged during the 8th or 9th century, possibly derived from the Basque word "kuya," which means "cradle" or "crib." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked with cribs or cradles, perhaps a cradle maker or a mid-wife.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name CUYA can be found in a document from the Archivo General de Navarra, dated around the year 1100. This document mentions a person named "Sancho Cuya," who was a landowner in the village of Estella, Navarra.

In the 13th century, the name CUYA appeared in several records from the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. For example, a man named "Juan Cuya" was mentioned in a document from the town of Renteria in 1250. Additionally, a "Maria Cuya" was recorded as a resident of Bilbao in 1275.

During the 15th century, the name CUYA started to spread beyond the Basque region, as some families migrated to other parts of Spain. One notable figure from this period was Pedro Cuya, who was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1421 and served as a soldier in the army of King Juan II of Castile.

In the 16th century, the name CUYA was found in various parts of Spain, including Andalusia and Catalonia. A prominent individual with this surname was Diego Cuya, a merchant from Seville who was involved in the Spanish trade with the Americas. He was born in 1525 and died in 1592.

During the 17th century, the CUYA surname continued to spread across Spain and also made its way to Spanish colonies in the Americas. For instance, a man named Francisco Cuya, born in 1647 in Seville, later became a landowner in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Over the centuries, the CUYA surname has undergone some variations in spelling, such as Cuia, Cuja, and Cugat. While the name is still relatively uncommon, it has been carried by several notable individuals throughout history, including the 19th-century Spanish writer and journalist Emilio Cuya y Garrido, and the 20th-century Argentine poet and artist Antonio Cuya.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cuya

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cuya.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cuya was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cuya has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cuya was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cuya, please contact us.

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