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

Lambarena, 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 Lambarena surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lambarena in America

Lambarena is the 105600th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lambarena surname appeared 169 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 Lambarena.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lambarena 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 Lambarena

The surname LAMBARENA has its origins in the Basque Country, a region straddling the border between Spain and France. The name can be traced back to the 16th century and is believed to be derived from the Basque words "lamba" meaning "mud" or "clay" and "arena" meaning "sand." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked in an area with muddy or sandy soil.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LAMBARENA surname appears in a 1568 census record from the town of Lekeitio in the Basque province of Bizkaia. This document lists a "Juan de Lambarena" as a resident of the town. The name is also found in various other historical records from the region, such as church registers and legal documents from the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the LAMBARENA surname was Juan Bautista de Lambarena (1715-1788), a Basque merchant and shipowner who played a significant role in the trade between Spain and its colonies in the Americas. He was based in the port city of Bilbao and his business dealings extended across the Atlantic.

Another prominent individual with the LAMBARENA surname was Father Miguel Lambarena (1847-1918), a Basque Catholic priest and missionary who spent much of his life working in Gabon, West Africa. He founded a mission station in the town of Lambaréné, which later became renowned for the work of the humanitarian doctor Albert Schweitzer.

In the 20th century, the name LAMBARENA gained wider recognition due to the fame of Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), the German-French philosopher, physician, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. Although not a direct descendant, Schweitzer's hospital and medical work in Lambaréné, Gabon, was closely associated with the town's name, which is derived from the LAMBARENA surname.

While the LAMBARENA surname is relatively uncommon outside of the Basque regions, it has been carried by notable individuals throughout history, reflecting the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Basque people. The name's origins can be traced back to the 16th century, and it has been linked to various professions, from merchants and shipowners to missionaries and medical pioneers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lambarena

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

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

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

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