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

Lerena, 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 Lerena surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lerena in America

Lerena is the 110286th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lerena surname appeared 160 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 Lerena.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lerena 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 Lerena

The surname Lerena originates from the Basque region of Spain and France, likely emerging in the 15th or 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Basque words "lera" meaning "field" and "ena" meaning "place" or "property," suggesting the name may have referred to someone who lived near a field or owned a property surrounded by fields.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lerena can be found in the 1587 census records of the town of Fuenterrabia (now Hondarribia) in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. The name is listed as "Lerenna," which may have been an earlier spelling variation.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in various documents from the Basque region, including parish records and land ownership records. For example, a certain Juan Lerena was listed as a landowner in the village of Lezo, Gipuzkoa, in 1632.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lerena surname began to spread beyond the Basque region as people migrated to other parts of Spain and the Americas. One notable individual was José Lerena y Eslava (1766-1836), a Spanish military officer and governor of several provinces in South America during the Spanish colonial era.

Another prominent figure was Gregorio Lerena (1835-1892), a Basque-Argentine businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the cattle industry and founded several educational institutions in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Other individuals with the Lerena surname include:

1. Juan Lerena (c. 1550-1620), a Basque explorer and navigator who accompanied Spanish expeditions to the Americas.
2. María Lerena (1802-1878), a Spanish writer and educator who established several schools for girls in Madrid.
3. Antonio Lerena (1853-1927), a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the governor of the state of Chihuahua.
4. Amalia Lerena (1876-1954), an Argentine painter and artist known for her landscapes and portraits.
5. Julio Lerena (1906-1992), a Peruvian poet and literary critic who was a prominent figure in the avant-garde literary movement.

While the Lerena surname may have initially been concentrated in the Basque region, it has since spread across Spain, Latin America, and other parts of the world due to migration and dispersal over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lerena

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

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

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

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