2000
#14,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,970
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Murrieta
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Murrieta in Navarre, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,934 Americans carry the last name Murrieta. That puts it at #11,712 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,822 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Murrieta surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,822
Census rank
#11,712
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,559 bearers of the surname Murrieta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11712th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Murrieta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murrieta
Among Census respondents with the surname Murrieta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Murrieta bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Murrieta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 2,394
- White5.4% · 137
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Two or more races0.4% · 10
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Murrieta
Murrieta appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,835
+865 bearers (+43.9%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Up 2,878 places
2020
#11,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,559
-276 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 552 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,038 | 1,970 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,160 | 2,835 | 0.96 | +865 bearers (+43.9%) | Up 2,878 places |
| 2020 | #11,712 | 2,559 | 0.86 | -276 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 552 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Murrieta surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,160 | #11,712 | -4.9% |
| Count | 2,835 | 2,559 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.86 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Murrieta bearers went from 2,835 to 2,559 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 552 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,160 to #11,712.
FAQ
Murrieta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Murrieta?
Name Census estimates that about 2,934 living Americans carry the surname Murrieta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,822 residents.
How common is Murrieta?
Murrieta ranks #11,712 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,559 people with the surname Murrieta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,934), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Murrieta.
Has Murrieta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Murrieta went from 2,835 recorded bearers to 2,559. That is a decrease of 276 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,160 to #11,712.
What does the Census say about the background of Murrieta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Murrieta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Murrieta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (2,394 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Murrieta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (5.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Murrieta (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Murrieta mean?
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Murrieta in Navarre, Spain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Murrieta (0.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Murrieta?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Murrieta, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.