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

Otárola, 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 Otárola surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Otárola in America

Otárola is the 137327th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Otárola surname appeared 122 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 Otárola.

We can also compare 2010 data for Otárola 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 Otárola

The surname Otarola is of Basque origin, originating in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Basque words "ote" meaning "place" and "arola" meaning "valley" or "ravine." This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone from a specific valley or ravine location.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Otarola appears in a 1456 census record from the town of Hernani in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country. The name is listed as "Otharola," likely an earlier spelling variation. In the 16th century, the name is found in various municipal records and land deeds from the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia.

A notable early bearer of the name was Juan de Otarola, a merchant and shipowner from Bilbao who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is mentioned in several maritime trade documents from the era. Another early example is Domingo de Otarola, a clergyman from the town of Getaria in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name appears in records from the village of Asteasu, where a family of Otarolas owned land and property. One of the Otarola family members, Pedro de Otarola (1620-1687), was a prominent local landowner and municipal official.

Moving into the 18th century, a Juan Bautista Otarola (1712-1784) was a renowned Basque architect responsible for designing several churches and buildings in the region. His son, Domingo Otarola (1743-1813), followed in his footsteps as an architect and contributed to the design of several notable structures in Bilbao and surrounding areas.

Throughout the 19th century, individuals with the surname Otarola continued to be found in various records and documents from the Basque Country, though the name remained relatively localized to that region. One notable figure was Tomás Otarola (1845-1922), a politician and lawyer from San Sebastián who served as a member of the Spanish Congress.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Otárola

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

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

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

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