Mendiola last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Mendiola

A Basque habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Mendiola, meaning "mountain forge" or "hill of the ironworks."

Mendiola, 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 Mendiola surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mendiola in America

Mendiola is the 3337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mendiola surname appeared 10,752 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Mendiola.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mendiola 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 3337 4112 -20.81%
Count 10,752 7,980 29.60%
Proportion per 100k 3.65 2.96 20.88%

The history of the last name Mendiola

The surname Mendiola originates from Spain, derived from the Basque region. It dates back to the 16th century and is believed to be derived from the Basque words "mendi," meaning mountain, and "ola," meaning forge or foundry. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived or worked near a forge in the mountains.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents from the Basque region of Spain. One notable early reference is in the census records of the town of Bilbao from the late 16th century, where several families with the surname Mendiola are listed.

The name Mendiola has also been associated with several prominent individuals throughout history. In the 17th century, Juan de Mendiola was a renowned Basque artist and sculptor who created numerous works for churches and cathedrals in Spain. Another notable figure was Pedro de Mendiola, a Spanish naval officer who served during the 18th century and was involved in several expeditions to the Americas.

During the 19th century, the surname Mendiola can be found in various records from Spain and its former colonies. One notable example is José Mendiola, a Mexican politician and military leader who played a significant role in the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s.

In the 20th century, the name Mendiola gained recognition through individuals such as Gonzalo Mendiola, a Spanish painter and sculptor known for his abstract works, who lived from 1907 to 1994. Another notable figure was Ramón Mendiola, a Mexican footballer who played for the national team in the 1950s and 1960s.

The surname Mendiola has also been associated with various place names in Spain, particularly in the Basque region. For example, there is a small village called Mendiola in the province of Álava, which likely derived its name from the surname itself.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mendiola

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

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 Mendiola was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.64% 714
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.31% 33
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 14.69% 1,579
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.15% 16
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 3.02% 325
Hispanic Origin 75.19% 8,084

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 Mendiola has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.64% 8.51% -24.69%
Black 0.31% 0.21% 38.46%
Asian and Pacific Islander 14.69% 13.40% 9.18%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.15% 0.24% -46.15%
Two or More Races 3.02% 2.26% 28.79%
Hispanic 75.19% 75.39% -0.27%

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

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

"Mendiola last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mendiola-surname-popularity/.

"Mendiola last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mendiola-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 October, 2024

Mendiola last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/mendiola-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.