2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Leita
An Ashkenazi-Jewish surname of unknown meaning or origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Leita. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leita surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Leita in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leita, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leita
The surname LEITA has its origins in the Galician region of northwestern Spain. It dates back to the early medieval period, around the 9th or 10th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Galician-Portuguese word "leita," meaning "milk" or "lactation." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone involved in dairy farming or the production of dairy products.
One of the earliest documented references to the surname LEITA can be found in the "Tumbo de Sobrado," a cartulary (collection of charters and records) from the Sobrado dos Monxes monastery in Galicia, dating back to the 11th century. This document includes several individuals with the surname LEITA, indicating that the name was already established in the region at that time.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Pedro Fernández Leita was mentioned in the "Nobiliario de Don Pedro, Conde de Barcelos," a Portuguese book of genealogies and heraldry. This suggests that the LEITA name was not only present among commoners but also held by members of the nobility.
During the 14th century, the surname LEITA appeared in various legal documents and records from the Kingdom of Galicia. One notable example is Rui Leita, a merchant and landowner who lived in the city of Santiago de Compostela around 1350.
In the 15th century, a prominent figure with the surname LEITA was Álvaro Leita, a Galician writer and poet who was part of the literary circle of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Another individual worth mentioning is Inés Leita, a 16th-century Spanish noblewoman from Galicia who was known for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts.
In the 17th century, the LEITA surname can be found in various parts of Spain, particularly in the regions of Galicia, Asturias, and Castile. One notable bearer of the name was Diego Leita, a Galician military officer who served in the Spanish Army during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).
As the LEITA surname spread beyond its Galician origins, it also appeared in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Over time, the name has been subject to various spelling variations, such as Leyta, Lleita, and Lleyta, reflecting regional linguistic differences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leita
Among Census respondents with the surname Leita, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Leita bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Leita surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino8.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leita
Leita appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-4 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,163 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.9%) | Up 2,163 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Leita surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #158,432 | #156,269 | 1.4% |
| Count | 102 | 98 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leita bearers went from 102 to 98 (-3.9% change). The surname moved up 2,163 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #156,269.
FAQ
Leita surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leita?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Leita. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Leita?
Leita ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 98 people with the surname Leita. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Leita.
Has Leita become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leita went from 102 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Leita?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leita, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Leita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leita appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (8.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Leita (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Leita mean?
An Ashkenazi-Jewish surname of unknown meaning or origin. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Leita (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Leita?
See how many people are called Leita on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.