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

Orrantia, 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 Orrantia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orrantia in America

Orrantia is the 34539th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orrantia surname appeared 655 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 Orrantia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orrantia 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 Orrantia

The surname ORRANTIA has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and south-western France. It is believed to have originated as a place name, derived from the Basque words "orr" (meaning "leaf" or "foliage") and "antia" (meaning "valley" or "ravine"). This suggests that the name likely referred to a leafy or verdant valley, perhaps where the first bearers of the name resided.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ORRANTIA surname can be found in the "Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla," a medieval cartulary (manuscript collection of charters and other documents) from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. This document, dating back to the 11th century, mentions an individual named "Didaco de Orrantia" in the year 1089.

In the 14th century, there are records of a noble family bearing the ORRANTIA name in the town of Aizarna, in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country. This family is believed to have been influential in the area during that time period.

One notable figure from history who bore the ORRANTIA surname was Juan de Orrantia (c. 1450 - c. 1520), a Basque navigator and explorer who participated in the Spanish colonization of the Caribbean and Central America in the early 16th century. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to explore the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of present-day Mexico.

Another prominent individual with the ORRANTIA surname was Pedro de Orrantia (1523 - 1591), a Basque architect and stonemason who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Spain, including the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the 17th century, there is mention of a Basque merchant named Martín de Orrantia (c. 1620 - c. 1680), who was involved in the transatlantic trade between Spain and the Americas. His business dealings and travels likely contributed to the spread of the ORRANTIA surname across the Spanish colonies in the New World.

A more recent figure of note with the ORRANTIA surname was Juan Orrantia (1887 - 1966), a Basque writer and journalist who was known for his works on Basque culture and language. He was a prolific author and played a significant role in the promotion and preservation of Basque literature in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orrantia

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

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

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

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