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

Murrieta, 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 Murrieta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Murrieta in America

Murrieta is the 11160th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Murrieta surname appeared 2,835 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Murrieta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Murrieta 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 Murrieta

The surname Murrieta has its origins in Spain, specifically in the Basque region. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "murru," which means "hill" or "promontory." The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 12th century in the Basque Country.

During the Reconquista period in medieval Spain, when Christian forces were reclaiming territories from the Moors, many Basque families migrated to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. It is likely that the Murrieta name spread across Spain as a result of these movements.

One notable historical figure bearing the surname Murrieta was Joaquín Murrieta (1829-1853), a legendary figure often referred to as the "Robin Hood of the West." He was a Mexican outlaw and folk hero who operated in California during the California Gold Rush era. His exploits and resistance against the oppression of Mexican miners have been the subject of numerous books and films.

Another prominent individual with the Murrieta surname was Luis Murrieta y Rozas (1795-1862), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Spain in 1848.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Murrieta name can be found in the person of José Antonio Murrieta (1791-1866), a Mexican settler in California who established the Rancho Murieta in the Sacramento Valley.

The Murrieta surname has also been associated with various place names, such as the city of Murrieta in Riverside County, California, which was named after the Murrieta family who owned land in the area.

Another notable figure with the Murrieta surname was Juan Bautista Murrieta (1793-1848), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Havana, Cuba, from 1843 to 1848.

It is worth noting that while the Murrieta name has its roots in the Basque region, it has since spread globally due to migration and settlement patterns, particularly in areas of Spanish influence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Murrieta

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

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

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