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

Laza, 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 Laza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laza in America

Laza is the 47107th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laza surname appeared 451 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 Laza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laza 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 Laza

The surname LAZA has its origins in Spain and is believed to have emerged in the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "laza," which means "trap" or "snare," possibly referring to an occupation or a location associated with hunting or trapping.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LAZA can be found in the medieval records of Castile, where it appears as a variant spelling of the more common surname "Laza." This suggests that the name may have originated in this region of Spain.

During the 15th century, the name LAZA appeared in various historical documents and records, such as the Libro de la Mesta, a registry of shepherds and livestock owners in Spain. This indicates that individuals bearing this surname were likely involved in pastoral or agricultural activities.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname LAZA was Juan de Laza, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. He is mentioned in several chronicles of the time, including those written by Pedro Cieza de León and Garcilaso de la Vega.

Another prominent individual with the surname LAZA was Pedro de Laza, a Spanish military officer who served as the governor of the Philippines from 1615 to 1619. He played a crucial role in the defense of the archipelago against Dutch and Portuguese forces during this period.

In the 18th century, José de Laza y Palacio was a Spanish lawyer and magistrate who held the position of Regente (Chief Justice) of the Royal Audiencia of Lima, the highest judicial authority in the Viceroyalty of Peru, from 1756 to 1763.

Moving forward to the 19th century, Manuel Laza was a prominent Spanish politician and statesman who served as the Minister of State (Prime Minister) of Spain for a brief period in 1847.

Over the centuries, the surname LAZA has also been associated with various place names and locations in Spain, such as Laza, a municipality in the province of Ourense, Galicia, and Laza de las Arrimadas, a small village in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laza

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Laza, 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!