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

Legaria, 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 Legaria surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Legaria in America

Legaria is the 154907th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Legaria surname appeared 105 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 Legaria.

The history of the last name Legaria

The surname Legaria has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "legar," which means "fertile land" or "meadow." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname referring to someone who worked on or owned fertile land.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Legaria surname can be found in a 14th-century document from the town of Zumarraga in the Basque Country of Spain. The document mentions a family by the name of Legaria who owned a significant amount of arable land in the area.

In the 16th century, there are records of a noble Basque family named Legaria who held significant influence and power in the region. One notable member of this family was Juan de Legaria, who served as a military commander during the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the early 1500s.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Legaria surname began to spread beyond the Basque Country as people migrated to other parts of Spain and to the Americas. In 1687, a man named Pedro de Legaria was among the early settlers in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the Legaria surname was Francisco de Legaria, a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1848 to 1851.

Another notable individual was Manuel Legaria, a Mexican politician and diplomat who served as Mexico's Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1850s. He played a significant role in negotiating the Gadsden Purchase, which resulted in the acquisition of a large portion of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico by the United States.

Throughout history, variations of the Legaria surname have also been found, such as Legarra, Legarrea, and Legarieta. These variations likely emerged as the name spread to different regions and underwent minor spelling changes over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Legaria

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

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

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

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