Navalta last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Navalta

A Spanish surname derived from the elements "nava" meaning valley and "alta" meaning high, possibly referring to someone from an elevated or highland area.

Navalta, 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 Navalta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Navalta in America

Navalta is the 43077th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Navalta surname appeared 502 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 Navalta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Navalta 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 43077 52289 -19.32%
Count 502 373 29.49%
Proportion per 100k 0.17 0.14 19.35%

The history of the last name Navalta

The surname Navalta originated in the Basque region of Spain and France, with historical records tracing its roots back to the 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Basque words "nabe" (valley) and "alta" (high), suggesting a connection to a high-lying valley or elevated terrain.

Early mentions of the name can be found in municipal records and church registries from the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Nafarroa. One of the earliest documented individuals bearing this surname was Juan Navalta, a landowner from the village of Etxarri-Aranatz in Nafarroa, whose name appears in a land deed dated 1487.

In the 16th century, the Navalta name gained prominence when Pedro Navalta (1522-1592), a renowned architect from the town of Hernani, designed several notable buildings in the region, including the Church of San Sebastian in Soria and the Convent of Santa Clara in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

As the Basque people migrated and settled in different parts of Spain and beyond, the Navalta surname spread to other regions. In the 17th century, records show a branch of the family establishing roots in the Canary Islands, where Francisco Navalta (1635-1702) became a respected merchant and landowner in Las Palmas.

The 19th century saw the emergence of several notable figures with the Navalta surname. Miguel Navalta (1821-1896), a celebrated painter from Barcelona, was renowned for his landscapes and portraits, with his works exhibited in galleries across Spain and Europe. Meanwhile, in the field of literature, Juana Navalta (1845-1912), a writer from Malaga, gained recognition for her poetry and novels that explored themes of love and societal norms.

As the Basque diaspora spread further, the Navalta name also found its way to the Americas. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Juan Bautista Navalta (1792-1867), a settler from Navarra who established a successful cattle ranch in Argentina's Pampas region in the early 19th century.

Other notable individuals bearing the Navalta surname include Carlos Navalta (1906-1982), a renowned architect from Madrid whose works exemplified the Modernist style, and Julia Navalta (1928-2005), a celebrated Peruvian pianist and composer recognized for her contributions to Latin American classical music.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Navalta

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

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 Navalta was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 13.35% 67
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 68.92% 346
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 8.17% 41
Hispanic Origin 8.96% 45

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 13.35% 16.09% -18.61%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 68.92% 67.56% 1.99%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 8.17% 5.90% 32.27%
Hispanic 8.96% 7.77% 14.23%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Navalta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/navalta-surname-popularity/.

"Navalta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/navalta-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 November, 2024

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

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