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

Tellechea, 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 Tellechea surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tellechea in America

Tellechea is the 56195th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tellechea surname appeared 364 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 Tellechea.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tellechea 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 Tellechea

The surname Tellechea is of Basque origin, deriving from the Basque Country spanning the western Pyrenees straddling northern Spain and southwestern France. The name likely dates back to the 12th or 13th century.

Tellechea is thought to be a topographic surname, referring to a location or landscape feature. It potentially stems from the Basque words "tella" meaning slope or hill, and "etxea" meaning house or dwelling. Thus, Tellechea may have originally referred to a house or homestead situated on a hillside or sloped terrain.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Tellechea name was Juan Tellechea, a Basque soldier who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century. Records show he was granted lands in the region of Navarre, Spain, following his military service.

In the 16th century, the Tellechea family was well-established in the town of Legazpi, in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country. Notable figures from this era include Domingo Tellechea, a merchant and trader born in Legazpi around 1525.

Fast forward to the 19th century, and we find José Ignacio Tellechea, a prominent Basque writer and historian born in Donostia-San Sebastián in 1828. His works focused on Basque culture, language, and traditions.

Crossing into the 20th century, Idígoras Tellechea (1914-1994) was a Basque painter and sculptor from Bilbao, known for his avant-garde style and works showcasing Basque themes.

More recently, José Ignacio Tellechea Idígoras (1928-2008) was a respected Catholic priest, theologian, and historian from San Sebastián, who wrote extensively on the history of the Basque Country and the Catholic Church.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tellechea

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

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

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

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