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

Isla, 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 Isla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Isla in America

Isla is the 36204th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Isla surname appeared 619 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 Isla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Isla 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 Isla

The surname ISLA is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands, where it is thought to have derived from the Gaelic word "innis", meaning island or meadow. This name is thought to have first emerged in the 13th century, likely referring to someone who lived on an island or near a meadow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ISLA can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, where a person named Adam Insule is mentioned. This is believed to be an early spelling variation of the surname ISLA.

In the 16th century, the name ISLA appeared in several historical records, such as the Ragman Rolls from 1296, which listed individuals who had sworn allegiance to King Edward I of England. One notable example is John Yle de Insula, who was from the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides.

During the 17th century, the ISLA surname was found in various parts of Scotland, including the counties of Argyll, Inverness, and Ross and Cromarty. One notable figure from this time was William Isla (1622-1675), a Scottish minister who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1673.

In the 18th century, the ISLA name appeared in several parish records, such as those of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire and Dunfermline in Fife. A prominent individual with this surname was Robert Isla (1738-1811), a Scottish merchant and landowner from Stirlingshire.

As the centuries progressed, the ISLA surname spread to other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond. In the 19th century, notable individuals with this surname included Sir Thomas Dyke Acland Islay (1809-1894), a British politician and landowner from Devon, and James Isla (1870-1951), a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers and represented Scotland at the international level.

Throughout its history, the ISLA surname has been associated with various places, including the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, the village of Isla in Angus, and the town of Isla Vista in California, which was named after the Spanish word for island.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Isla

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

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

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

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