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

Egaña, 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 Egaña surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Egaña in America

Egaña is the 91625th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Egaña surname appeared 201 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 Egaña.

We can also compare 2010 data for Egaña 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 Egaña

The surname Egana originated in the Basque Country, a region straddling the western Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, possibly as early as the 11th century.

Egana is derived from the Basque word "egana," meaning "summit" or "peak." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on or near a mountain top or elevated area. Alternatively, it could have been a descriptive surname given to someone with a prominent or lofty stature or personality.

One of the earliest known references to the name Egana can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Basque region, which mentions a landowner named Martín de Egana. This indicates that the name had already established itself as a hereditary surname by that time.

In the 15th century, records show a Juan de Egana who served as a municipal official in the town of Oñati, located in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. This suggests that the Egana family held a respectable position within the local community.

During the 16th century, the name Egana began to appear in various parts of Spain, likely due to migration from the Basque homeland. One notable figure was Pedro de Egaña (c. 1520-1599), a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Philippines and later became a prominent landowner and administrator in the colony.

In the 18th century, José Antonio de Egaña (1741-1828) was a renowned Spanish jurist and statesman who served as a member of the Council of the Indies and played a significant role in the drafting of the Spanish constitution of 1812.

Another notable figure was Miguel de Egaña (1768-1835), a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as the first President of the Supreme Court of Chile and played a crucial role in the country's independence from Spain.

As the Egana surname spread beyond the Basque region, variations in spelling emerged, such as Egaña, Egaño, and Egano. These variations reflect the linguistic and orthographic influences of different regions and languages, but all share a common Basque origin.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Egaña

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

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 Egaña 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 Egaña 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 Egaña was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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