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

Oria, 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 Oria surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oria in America

Oria is the 54296th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oria surname appeared 380 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 Oria.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oria 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 Oria

The surname Oria has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the northern regions of Spain and Portugal. It likely originated in the medieval period, around the 11th to 13th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Latin word "horia," which means "boundary" or "limit." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with people who lived near borders or territorial boundaries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oria can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript describing the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. This document mentions a place called "Villa Oria" in the region of Galicia, which may have given rise to the surname.

In the 13th century, there are records of a noble family bearing the name Oria in the Kingdom of Castile. One notable member was Gonzalo Oria, a military commander who served under King Alfonso X and participated in the conquest of Murcia in 1266.

During the 14th century, the name appears in various historical documents from the region of Cantabria, such as the Becerro de las Behetrías, a census-like record of landholdings and vassals. This suggests that the surname Oria had spread and taken root in this northern coastal area of Spain.

In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Rodrigo de Oria was a wealthy merchant and shipowner from Seville, who played a significant role in the Spanish exploration and trade with the Americas. His ships were among the first to make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Pedro de Oria, a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his historic circumnavigation of the globe in the 16th century. De Oria participated in the first recorded crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

Over the centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Oría, Orria, and Uria. While the name is primarily associated with Spain and Portugal, it has also been carried by families in other parts of Europe, as well as in Latin America, due to the Spanish and Portuguese colonial expansions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oria

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

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

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

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