2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ollarzabal
A Basque surname indicating a place of origin near Ollarán.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Ollarzabal. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ollarzabal 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Ollarzabal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ollarzabal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ollarzabal
The surname Ollarzabal has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It can be traced back to the 16th century, with the earliest known recording of the name appearing in church records from the village of Ollarzun in Navarre, Spain in the year 1545.
Ollarzabal is a compound Basque surname, derived from the combination of the words "ollar" meaning "oven" or "kiln" and "zabal" meaning "wide" or "broad". This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near or worked with a large oven or kiln, perhaps a baker or potter.
In the 17th century, several Ollarzabal families were documented as living in the Basque towns of Lesaka and Yanci, also in Navarre. During this period, variations in spelling such as Olarzabal and Ollarzabala were common, reflecting the fluid nature of surname standardization at the time.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name was Juan de Ollarzabal, a Basque soldier who fought in the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1520s under Hernán Cortés. Records show that he was granted land in the Valley of Mexico as a reward for his service.
Another prominent Ollarzabal was Martín de Ollarzabal, a 17th-century priest and theologian who authored several religious texts and served as a professor at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
In the 18th century, the Ollarzabal name appeared in various Spanish colonial records from the Americas, indicating that some members of the family had participated in the exploration and settlement of the New World.
One such example is José Ignacio de Ollarzabal, a Spanish naval officer and cartographer who was born in Havana, Cuba in 1755. He is credited with creating several important maps of the Caribbean region during his career.
As the Basque people migrated to other parts of Spain and beyond, the Ollarzabal surname spread as well. In the 19th century, Julián Ollarzabal, born in 1812 in the Spanish province of Álava, became a respected lawyer and politician, serving as a member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
Another notable figure was Ramón Ollarzabal, a Basque writer and journalist who was born in Tolosa, Spain in 1865. He was a prolific author and contributor to various Basque-language publications, helping to preserve and promote the region's cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ollarzabal
Among Census respondents with the surname Ollarzabal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ollarzabal 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 Ollarzabal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.1% · 90
- White6.9% · 7
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ollarzabal
Ollarzabal appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-5 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 1,501 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 Ollarzabal 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 | #153,769 | #155,270 | -1.0% |
| Count | 106 | 101 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ollarzabal bearers went from 106 to 101 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,501 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,270.
FAQ
Ollarzabal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ollarzabal?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Ollarzabal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Ollarzabal?
Ollarzabal ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Ollarzabal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ollarzabal.
Has Ollarzabal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ollarzabal went from 106 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Ollarzabal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ollarzabal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ollarzabal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ollarzabal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.1%), White (6.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ollarzabal (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 Ollarzabal mean?
A Basque surname indicating a place of origin near Ollarán. 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 Ollarzabal (0.03 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 have the surname Ollarzabal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.