Rentería last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Rentería

A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone from the village of Renteria in northern Spain.

Rentería, 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 Rentería surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rentería in America

Rentería is the 1256th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rentería surname appeared 27,976 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Rentería.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rentería 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1256 1558 -21.46%
Count 27,976 21,159 27.75%
Proportion per 100k 9.48 7.84 18.94%

The history of the last name Rentería

The surname Renteria originates from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, where it emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the Basque words "errenta," meaning "income" or "revenue," and "erri," meaning "town" or "village." This suggests that the name may have referred to a person who collected taxes or rents in a particular town or locality.

Renteria is closely related to the Basque place name Errenteria, a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. The earliest recorded mention of this town dates back to the 11th century, when it was referred to as "Villanueva de Errenteria" in a document from the Monastery of Leyre.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Renteria surname was Juan de Renteria, a 14th-century navigator and cartographer from the town of Errenteria. He is noted for his involvement in the exploration of the Canary Islands and the creation of maps and charts for Spanish seafarers.

In the 15th century, the name Renteria appeared in the census records of the province of Gipuzkoa, indicating its presence in the region. During this period, Pedro de Renteria, a merchant and shipowner from the town of Errenteria, played a role in the trade between Spain and the Americas.

The Renteria surname also found its way to the Americas during the Spanish colonial era. In the 16th century, Andrés de Renteria, a Spanish soldier and explorer, participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He later settled in New Spain (present-day Mexico) and received land grants for his service.

Another notable figure bearing the Renteria surname was Juan de Renteria, a 17th-century architect and master builder who worked on several significant projects in Mexico City, including the construction of the Convent of La Encarnación and the renovation of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

As the Renteria surname spread throughout Spain and its colonies, it took on various spellings and variations, such as Rentería, Renteri, and Rentería y Guevara. Over time, individuals with this name have made contributions in various fields, including the arts, politics, and academia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rentería

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

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 Rentería was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 4.11% 1,150
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.27% 76
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.16% 45
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.30% 84
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.17% 48
Hispanic Origin 94.98% 26,572

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 Rentería has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.11% 4.65% -12.33%
Black 0.27% 0.25% 7.69%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.16% 0.18% -11.76%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.30% 0.50% -50.00%
Two or More Races 0.17% 0.39% -78.57%
Hispanic 94.98% 94.03% 1.01%

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

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

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"Rentería last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/renteria-surname-popularity/.

"Rentería last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/renteria-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 October, 2024

Rentería last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/renteria-surname-popularity/.

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