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

Ortego, 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 Ortego surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ortego in America

Ortego is the 11697th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ortego surname appeared 2,679 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 Ortego.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ortego 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 Ortego

The surname Ortego originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "huerta," meaning "garden" or "orchard." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked in a garden or orchard.

Historical records show that the name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Andalusia and Extremadura in southern Spain. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Pedro Ortego, a landowner from Seville who was mentioned in a document from the year 1325.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, where several individuals with the surname Ortego were listed as conversos, or Jews who had converted to Christianity. This indicates that the name may have been adopted by some Sephardic Jewish families during that time.

As Spanish explorers and settlers ventured to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Ortego was carried across the Atlantic. One notable figure was Juan Ortego, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in 1519.

Over the centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, including Ortiga, Hortega, and Hurtado. The name was also sometimes combined with other surnames, such as Ortego y Gasca or Ortego de la Vega.

Several individuals with the surname Ortego have achieved prominence throughout history. These include:

1. Pedro Ortego de Solórzano (1548-1628), a Spanish jurist and writer who authored works on legal theory and philosophy.
2. María Ortego (1768-1837), a Spanish painter and one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid.
3. José Ortego y Gasset (1883-1955), a Spanish philosopher and essayist who was a leading figure in the Generation of '98 movement.
4. Emilio Ortego Costales (1925-2003), a Spanish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Congress of Deputies.
5. Mariano Ortego Fernández (born 1950), a Spanish poet and writer who has published several collections of poetry and literary criticism.

While the name Ortego is not as common globally as some other Spanish surnames, it has a rich history that traces back to the Middle Ages and reflects the diverse cultural influences that have shaped the Spanish language and people over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ortego

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

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

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

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