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

Legarreta, 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 Legarreta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Legarreta in America

Legarreta is the 34223rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Legarreta surname appeared 663 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 Legarreta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Legarreta 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 Legarreta

The surname Legarreta originates from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Basque words "legar" meaning "field" or "pasture" and "reta" meaning "place" or "location." Thus, Legarreta can be interpreted as "place of fields" or "pasture land."

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Legarreta name can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. The document, dated around 1180, includes a reference to a landowner named Sancho Legarreta.

Another historical reference is Juan de Legarreta, a prominent merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Bilbao, Spain, during the 15th century. Records indicate that he was actively involved in the local government and held significant influence in the region.

In the 16th century, a branch of the Legarreta family settled in the town of Lequeitio, located in the Basque province of Biscay. One notable figure from this period was Pedro de Legarreta, a ship captain and explorer who sailed to the Americas and was involved in the early colonization efforts of the Spanish Empire.

During the 17th century, the Legarreta name was associated with several members of the Basque nobility. One such individual was Martín de Legarreta y Arieta, who served as a magistrate and held various administrative positions in the province of Gipuzkoa.

In the 19th century, Sebastián de Legarreta was a prominent Basque writer and politician. He played a significant role in the preservation and promotion of the Basque language and culture, and his works are considered important contributions to the region's literary heritage.

While the Legarreta surname is most commonly found in the Basque regions of Spain and France, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. The name is particularly prevalent in countries with significant Basque communities, such as Argentina, Mexico, and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Legarreta

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

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

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