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

Ortigoza, 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 Ortigoza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ortigoza in America

Ortigoza is the 39607th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ortigoza surname appeared 555 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 Ortigoza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ortigoza 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 Ortigoza

The surname Ortigoza has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "ortiga," meaning "nettle," combined with the locative suffix "-oza," indicating a place where nettles grew abundantly. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near or owned land where nettles were prevalent.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Ortigoza can be found in various Spanish historical records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable mention is in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript compiled under the patronage of King Alfonso XI of Castile, which lists several place names with the root "ortiga," indicating the presence of the Ortigoza family in various regions of Spain during that time.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Inquisition, with a certain Juan Ortigoza documented as a resident of Seville in 1492. This provides evidence of the name's prevalence in southern Spain during the period surrounding the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Atlantic, the Ortigoza name was carried to the Americas by early colonists and settlers. One notable figure was Pedro Ortigoza, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Ortigoza name can be found in records from various regions of New Spain (present-day Mexico), with several members of the family holding positions of importance within the Spanish colonial administration.

Another notable individual bearing the Ortigoza surname was Juana Inés Ortigoza (1651-1695), a renowned Mexican nun, scholar, and poet who is considered one of the most important figures in the literary canon of the Spanish Golden Age.

In the 19th century, the Ortigoza name gained prominence in the fight for Mexican independence, with General Mariano Ortigoza (1788-1832) playing a crucial role in the revolutionary struggles against Spanish rule.

Throughout its history, the surname Ortigoza has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Ortigosa, Ortigoza de Cameros, and Ortigoza de Valdegovía, among others, reflecting the geographical diversity of its origins and spread across Spain and its former colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ortigoza

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!