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

Oceguera, 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 Oceguera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oceguera in America

Oceguera is the 9081st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oceguera surname appeared 3,599 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 Oceguera.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oceguera 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 Oceguera

The surname Oceguera has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Basque language, with "oke" meaning "oak" and "guera" meaning "war" or "battle." This suggests that the name may have been used to describe someone who lived near an oak tree or fought in a battle near oak trees.

During the Middle Ages, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts in the Basque region of Spain, often spelled slightly differently, such as "Oceguerra" or "Oceguerrea." One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Libro de la Guerra de Navarra, a 13th-century account of the War of Navarre.

In the 16th century, the Oceguera name gained prominence in the Basque Country, particularly in the town of Oceguera, now known as Ozaeta. This town's name likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Oceguera was Juan de Oceguera, a Basque soldier who fought in the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s. He was among the conquistadors who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Another notable figure was Martín de Oceguera, a 16th-century Basque explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Americas, including the exploration of the Gulf of California and the Pacific Coast of Mexico.

In the 17th century, the Oceguera family played a role in the colonization of New Spain (present-day Mexico and the southwestern United States). Alonso de Oceguera, born in 1620, was a landowner and rancher in the region of Nuevo León, Mexico.

The 18th century saw the Oceguera name spread beyond Spain and Mexico. José María Oceguera, born in 1765 in Veracruz, Mexico, was a prominent military officer who fought in the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish rule.

In the 19th century, Ramón Oceguera, born in 1842 in Sonora, Mexico, was a renowned writer and journalist who advocated for the rights of indigenous people and fought against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oceguera

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

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

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

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