Iha last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Iha

A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "island".

Iha, 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 Iha surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Iha in America

Iha is the 56073rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iha surname appeared 365 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 Iha.

We can also compare 2010 data for Iha 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 56073 54522 2.80%
Count 365 354 3.06%
Proportion per 100k 0.12 0.13 -8.00%

The history of the last name Iha

The surname IHA is believed to have originated in Finland, with records indicating its presence as early as the 16th century. It is derived from the Finnish word "iha," which means "admiration" or "desire." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone who was particularly admired or desired within their community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name IHA can be found in the parish records of the town of Hämeenlinna, located in southern Finland. These records date back to the late 1500s and mention several individuals with the surname IHA, indicating that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.

In the 17th century, the name IHA appears in various legal documents and land records from the Finnish provinces of Uusimaa and Häme. These documents provide valuable insights into the lives and occupations of individuals bearing this surname during that era.

Notable individuals with the surname IHA include Juhani IHA (1620-1689), a prominent landowner and farmer from the town of Janakkala, and Liisa IHA (1672-1741), a respected midwife who practiced in the city of Helsinki for several decades.

As the centuries progressed, the IHA surname continued to be prevalent in various parts of Finland, with some families adopting slight variations in spelling, such as IHALAINEN or IHATSU. These variations often reflected regional dialectal differences or were used to distinguish different branches of the same family.

In the 19th century, the name IHA gained further recognition with the birth of Juho IHA (1828-1901), a celebrated Finnish poet and journalist who played a significant role in the country's literary and cultural renaissance. His works explored themes of national identity and the beauty of the Finnish landscape, earning him widespread acclaim.

Another notable figure was Kaarlo IHA (1856-1924), a prominent engineer and industrialist who contributed significantly to the development of Finland's infrastructure and manufacturing sector during the country's industrialization period.

Throughout its history, the surname IHA has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including farmers, artisans, scholars, and artists, all contributing to the rich tapestry of Finnish society and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Iha

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

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 Iha was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 11.78% 43
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 76.44% 279
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 8.77% 32
Hispanic Origin 3.01% 11

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 11.78% 11.02% 6.67%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 76.44% 78.25% -2.34%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 8.77% 7.34% 17.75%
Hispanic 3.01% 3.39% -11.88%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Iha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 8, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/iha-surname-popularity/.

"Iha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/iha-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 November, 2024

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

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