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

Moraida, 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 Moraida surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moraida in America

Moraida is the 101737th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moraida surname appeared 177 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 Moraida.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moraida 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 Moraida

The surname MORAIDA is believed to have originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Andalusia, during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "murada," which translates to "fortified place" or "enclosed wall," suggesting that the name may have been given to individuals who lived near or were associated with a fortified settlement or town.

One of the earliest known recorded instances of the surname MORAIDA can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document dating back to the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties among the Christian conquistadors after the reconquest of Seville from the Moors in 1248. This document mentions a certain Pedro MORAIDA, who was granted land in the region of Seville for his service during the military campaign.

In the 15th century, the surname MORAIDA appeared in several historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon, including a mention of a Juan MORAIDA, who was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Zaragoza. This suggests that the name had spread beyond the region of Andalusia and had become established in other parts of Spain.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the MORAIDA surname could also be found in various colonial records from Spanish territories in the Americas. One notable figure was Alonso MORAIDA, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1600s.

Another prominent individual bearing the MORAIDA surname was Diego MORAIDA, a renowned architect and military engineer who was commissioned by the Spanish crown to design and oversee the construction of several fortifications and defensive structures in the Caribbean and Central America during the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, the MORAIDA name appeared in records related to the Spanish nobility, with a certain María MORAIDA y Mendoza, who was a member of the aristocratic Mendoza family and held the title of Countess of Villanueva.

Over the centuries, variations of the spelling of the surname MORAIDA have emerged, including Morayda, Morayta, and Moraida. It is worth noting that some of these variations may have originated from different linguistic roots or geographic regions, while others may simply be alternative spellings or transcriptions of the same name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moraida

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

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

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

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