Gaxiola last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Gaxiola

A Basque surname derived from the village of Gaxiola, likely referring to a person from that place.

Gaxiola, 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 Gaxiola surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaxiola in America

Gaxiola is the 11627th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaxiola surname appeared 2,696 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gaxiola.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaxiola 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11627 13971 -18.31%
Count 2,696 1,982 30.53%
Proportion per 100k 0.91 0.73 21.95%

The history of the last name Gaxiola

The surname Gaxiola originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "gaxo," which means "ill" or "sick," and the Spanish word "ola," meaning "wave" or "billow." The name may have been given to someone who lived near a rough sea or waves, or it could have been a descriptive name for someone who appeared sickly or frail.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gaxiola can be found in the historical records of Cantabria, a region in northern Spain. In the 14th century, a document from the town of Laredo mentions a person named Juan Gaxiola, who was a merchant and ship owner.

During the 16th century, the name Gaxiola appeared in various Spanish records, including the Census of Castile from 1591. This census listed several families with the surname Gaxiola living in the regions of Asturias and Cantabria.

In the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname Gaxiola was Diego Gaxiola (1620-1692), a Spanish military officer who served in the Spanish Navy and participated in several naval battles against the English and Dutch fleets in the Caribbean Sea.

Another historical figure with the Gaxiola surname was María Gaxiola (1745-1823), a Spanish philanthropist and benefactor from Santander, Cantabria. She donated a significant portion of her wealth to establish a hospital and a school for underprivileged children in her hometown.

In the 19th century, the name Gaxiola appeared in various records from Mexico, indicating that some individuals with this surname had migrated from Spain to the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the region.

One notable Mexican figure with the Gaxiola surname was José María Gaxiola (1810-1891), a politician and lawyer who served as the governor of Sinaloa from 1867 to 1871. He played a significant role in the political and social reforms of his state during the aftermath of the Mexican-American War.

Overall, the surname Gaxiola has its roots in the Basque and Spanish cultures, and it has been present in historical records from Spain and later in Mexico, reflecting the migration patterns of individuals bearing this surname over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaxiola

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

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 Gaxiola was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.90% 186
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.19% 5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.52% 14
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.33% 9
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.22% 6
Hispanic Origin 91.84% 2,476

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 Gaxiola has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.90% 7.62% -9.92%
Black 0.19% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.52% 0.25% 70.13%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.33% 0.50% -40.96%
Two or More Races 0.22% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 91.84% 91.37% 0.51%

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

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

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"Gaxiola last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 17, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gaxiola-surname-popularity/.

"Gaxiola last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gaxiola-surname-popularity/. Accessed 17 November, 2024

Gaxiola last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/gaxiola-surname-popularity/.

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