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

Mendiaz, 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 Mendiaz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mendiaz in America

Mendiaz is the 111988th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mendiaz surname appeared 157 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 Mendiaz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mendiaz 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 Mendiaz

The surname Mendiaz is believed to have originated in the Basque region of Spain, specifically in the northern provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. The name is thought to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

One possible etymology of the name suggests that it is derived from the Basque words "mendi" meaning mountain, and "az" meaning small or diminutive. This could indicate that the name initially referred to someone living near a small mountain or hill.

Another theory proposes that Mendiaz is a variant spelling of the name Mendieta, which is also a Basque surname with a similar meaning related to mountains or hills. It's possible that the two names share a common origin and evolved into distinct spellings over time.

The earliest known record of the Mendiaz surname dates back to the 15th century, when a certain Juan de Mendiaz is mentioned in a document from the town of Bilbao in 1472. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several individuals bearing the Mendiaz surname appeared in various historical records and manuscripts from the Basque Country and other parts of Spain. For instance, Pedro de Mendiaz was a prominent merchant and ship-owner from San Sebastian who was active in the early 1600s.

Notable individuals with the Mendiaz surname throughout history include:

1. Diego de Mendiaz (c. 1510-1580), a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro.
2. Juan de Mendiaz (fl. 1620s), a Basque sailor and navigator who served in the Spanish Armada and was involved in the exploration of the Pacific Ocean.
3. María Mendiaz (c. 1670-1745), a renowned Basque poet and author who wrote extensively in the Basque language during the 18th century.
4. José Mendiaz y Alonso (1786-1853), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1846 to 1849.
5. Javier Mendiaz Losada (1919-2002), a Spanish painter and artist known for his abstract expressionist works, who was active in the latter half of the 20th century.

While the Mendiaz surname is most commonly associated with the Basque region, it has also been found in other parts of Spain, as well as in Latin American countries like Mexico and Argentina, likely due to migration from Spain over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mendiaz

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

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

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