2000
#2,698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,270
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.55
Uncommon Last name
Najera
A habitational surname referring to someone from Nájera, a town in La Rioja, Spain, or a topographic name for someone living near a pear tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,409 Americans carry the last name Najera. That puts it at #1,976 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,794 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Najera 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
20K
1 in 16,794
Census rank
#1,976
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,798 bearers of the surname Najera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1976th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Najera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Najera
The surname Najera originates from Spain, specifically the city of Nájera in the La Rioja region. The name is derived from the Latin word "Naiera," which means "wetland" or "marshy area," likely referring to the geographic location of the city near the Najerilla River.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Najera surname can be traced back to the 11th century. In 1076, a document from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla mentions a nobleman named Rodrigo Muñoz de Najera, who was a prominent figure in the Kingdom of Navarre during that time.
During the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, several individuals with the Najera surname played significant roles. One notable figure was Diego de Najera, a military commander who fought alongside King Ferdinand III of Castile in the 13th century.
The Najera surname also has connections to the Spanish nobility. In the 15th century, Juan de Najera y Mendoza (1418-1480) was a celebrated poet and courtier in the court of King Juan II of Castile. His works, including the "Defunsión de Don Enrique de Villena," are considered important contributions to Spanish literature.
Another prominent figure with the Najera surname was Antonio de Najera (1505-1580), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro. He later served as the governor of Popayán, a territory in present-day Colombia.
In the realm of religion, Fray Alonso de Najera (1555-1617) was a Spanish Dominican friar and missionary who traveled to the Philippines in the late 16th century. He is credited with establishing several churches and missions in the archipelago, including the Convent of Santo Domingo in Manila.
While the Najera surname is primarily associated with Spain, it has also spread to other parts of the world, particularly Latin America, through Spanish colonization and migration. Notable individuals with this surname include the Mexican writer and politician José María Najera (1809-1856) and the Peruvian composer and musician Lucho Najera (1905-1974).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Najera
Among Census respondents with the surname Najera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Najera 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 Najera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.3% · 16,791
- White3.9% · 692
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 128
- Two or more races0.4% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 59
- Black or African American0.3% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Najera
Najera 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
#1,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,340
+6,070 bearers (+49.5%)
Per 100,000 6.22
Rank movement Up 727 places
2020
#1,976
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,798
-542 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 5.95
Rank movement Down 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,698 | 12,270 | 4.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,971 | 18,340 | 6.22 | +6,070 bearers (+49.5%) | Up 727 places |
| 2020 | #1,976 | 17,798 | 5.95 | -542 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 5 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 Najera 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 | #1,971 | #1,976 | -0.3% |
| Count | 18,340 | 17,798 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.22 | 5.95 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Najera bearers went from 18,340 to 17,798 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,971 to #1,976.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Najera
FAQ
Najera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Najera?
Name Census estimates that about 20,409 living Americans carry the surname Najera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,794 residents.
How common is Najera?
Najera ranks #1,976 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,798 people with the surname Najera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,409), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Najera.
Has Najera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Najera went from 18,340 recorded bearers to 17,798. That is a decrease of 542 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,971 to #1,976.
What does the Census say about the background of Najera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Najera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Najera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (16,791 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Najera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.3%), White (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Najera (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 Najera mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from Nájera, a town in La Rioja, Spain, or a topographic name for someone living near a pear tree. 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 Najera (5.95 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 common is the surname Najera?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Najera at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.