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

Laiz, 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 Laiz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laiz in America

Laiz is the 123796th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laiz surname appeared 139 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 Laiz.

The history of the last name Laiz

The surname LAIZ has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France, tracing back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "laiza," meaning "clearing" or "forest glade," suggesting that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who lived or worked in such areas.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LAIZ can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript dated around 1350, which contains several references to individuals bearing this surname in the Basque provinces of Spain.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various historical records from the Basque region, including the Fueros de Navarra, a collection of laws and privileges granted to the Kingdom of Navarre. These records mention families with the surname LAIZ residing in towns and villages such as Laiza and Laizquibar.

During the 16th century, the name LAIZ spread beyond the Basque region, with documented instances in other parts of Spain and even in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. One notable figure was Juan de Laiz, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.

In the 17th century, the LAIZ surname appeared in the records of the Inquisition in Spain, indicating the presence of individuals with this name during that tumultuous period of Spanish history.

Moving forward to the 18th century, Domingo de Laiz, a Spanish navigator and explorer, made notable contributions to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean and the mapping of the western coast of North America.

In the 19th century, the LAIZ surname gained prominence in various fields. Ramón de Laiz y Berriz, born in 1823, was a Spanish politician and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Spain to the United States in the late 1800s.

Another significant figure from this period was Enrique Laiz y Sánchez, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Carlist Wars and later became a prominent author and historian, publishing works on Spanish history and culture.

As the LAIZ surname spread across the globe, it found its way to other regions, including Latin America and the United States. In the late 19th century, José Laiz Arriortua, a Basque immigrant, established one of the first Basque settlements in the American West, founding the town of Laisville, Nevada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laiz

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

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 Laiz 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.

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

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

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