2000
#3,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,623
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.57
Uncommon Last name
Garibay
A Basque surname referring to someone from the town of Garibai in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,418 Americans carry the last name Garibay. That puts it at #2,791 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garibay 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
14K
1 in 23,773
Census rank
#2,791
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,573 bearers of the surname Garibay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2791st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibay, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garibay
The surname Garibay has its origins in the Basque Country, a region spanning parts of northern Spain and southern France. It is believed to have emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.
Garibay is derived from the Basque words "gari" meaning wheat and "bai" meaning yes or affirmative. This suggests the name may have originally referred to a wheat farmer or someone associated with the cultivation of wheat.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Garibay can be found in the "Becerro Galicano de las Behetrías de Castilla," a medieval document from the 14th century that documented landowners and their properties in the region of Castile, Spain.
In the 16th century, Esteban de Garibay y Zamalloa (1533-1599) was a prominent Spanish historian and chronicler. He is known for his work "Los Quarenta Libros del Compendio Historial de las Chronicas y Universal Historia de todos los Reynos de España," which chronicled the history of Spain.
Another notable figure with the surname Garibay was Juan Bautista Muñoz Garibay (1645-1701), a Spanish painter who was active during the Baroque period. He is best known for his religious paintings and works commissioned by churches in Madrid.
In the 18th century, Tomás Antonio Garibay Durán (1709-1776) was a Mexican lawyer and historian who wrote extensively about the history of Mexico City and the indigenous people of the region.
Jumping to the 19th century, José María Garibay Kintana (1892-1967) was a renowned Mexican anthropologist and historian who specialized in the study of Mesoamerican cultures and languages. He made significant contributions to the understanding of the Nahuatl language and the Aztec civilization.
Throughout its history, the surname Garibay has also been associated with various place names in the Basque Country and surrounding regions, such as the village of Garibay in the province of Álava, Spain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garibay
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibay, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Garibay 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 Garibay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 11,771
- White4.7% · 589
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 42
- Two or more races0.3% · 36
- Black or African American0.2% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garibay
Garibay 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
#2,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,088
+3,465 bearers (+36.0%)
Per 100,000 4.44
Rank movement Up 653 places
2020
#2,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,573
-515 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 4.21
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,408 | 9,623 | 3.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,755 | 13,088 | 4.44 | +3,465 bearers (+36.0%) | Up 653 places |
| 2020 | #2,791 | 12,573 | 4.21 | -515 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 36 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 Garibay 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 | #2,755 | #2,791 | -1.3% |
| Count | 13,088 | 12,573 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.44 | 4.21 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garibay bearers went from 13,088 to 12,573 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,755 to #2,791.
FAQ
Garibay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garibay?
Name Census estimates that about 14,418 living Americans carry the surname Garibay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,773 residents.
How common is Garibay?
Garibay ranks #2,791 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,573 people with the surname Garibay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,418), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Garibay.
Has Garibay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garibay went from 13,088 recorded bearers to 12,573. That is a decrease of 515 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,755 to #2,791.
What does the Census say about the background of Garibay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibay, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Garibay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (11,771 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garibay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (4.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Garibay (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 Garibay mean?
A Basque surname referring to someone from the town of Garibai in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. 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 Garibay (4.21 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 common is the surname Garibay?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Garibay, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.