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

Gainza, 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 Gainza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gainza in America

Gainza is the 86645th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gainza surname appeared 215 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 Gainza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gainza 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 Gainza

The surname Gainza is of Basque origin, tracing its roots to the Basque Country, a region spanning parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. The name is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.

Its etymology can be traced back to the Basque language, where "gain" translates to "high" or "upper," and "tza" is a suffix denoting a place or location. This suggests that the name Gainza may have referred to individuals residing in or originating from an elevated or higher location, possibly a hill or a mountainous area.

Early records of the name Gainza can be found in various historical documents and manuscripts from the Basque region. One notable mention is in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval cartulary from the 10th century, which contains references to individuals bearing the name Gainza.

The earliest recorded examples of the surname Gainza date back to the 13th century, with mentions in various charters and land registries from the Basque provinces of Álava, Vizcaya, and Guipúzcoa. Variations in spelling, such as Gaynza and Gainca, were also observed in these ancient records.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Gainza. One such person was Juan de Gainza (1565-1628), a Spanish military officer and governor of Chile during the 16th century. Another notable figure was José María Gainza (1784-1849), a Spanish general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the Peninsular War.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Ignacio Gainza (1876-1950), a Basque sculptor and painter known for his works depicting Basque culture and traditions. In the field of literature, Álvaro Gainza (1923-2009) was a renowned Basque writer and poet, celebrated for his contributions to the preservation of the Basque language and culture.

Additionally, the Gainza name has been associated with various place names and locations within the Basque region, such as the municipality of Gainza in the province of Navarre, and the neighborhoods of Gainza in the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gainza

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

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

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

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