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

Uclaray, 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 Uclaray surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Uclaray in America

Uclaray is the 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Uclaray surname appeared 125 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 Uclaray.

The history of the last name Uclaray

The surname UCLARAY has its origins in the Basque Country, a region straddling the western Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. It is believed to have first appeared in the early 15th century, derived from the Basque words "ukul" meaning "owl" and "arrai" meaning "stream" or "waterway".

The earliest known record of the UCLARAY name dates back to 1426 in the village of Garazi, located in the Northern Basque Country of France. It appears in a land deed mentioning one Petri de Ucularrai, likely referring to someone residing near an "owl stream".

By the late 15th century, variations of the name like Ucularay and Ucularray start appearing in church records and municipal archives across the Basque provinces of Lapurdi, Baxe Nafarroa, and Zuberoa in present-day France.

One notable early bearer of the UCLARAY name was Juan de Ucularray (1509-1583), a renowned Basque architect who designed several churches and municipal buildings in the region, including the Church of Saint-Jean-le-Vieux in Bayonne.

In the 17th century, the UCLARAY name spread to the Spanish side of the Basque Country, particularly in the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. Miguel Antonio de Uclaray (1642-1712) was a prominent merchant and shipowner from the coastal town of Lekeitio.

As the Basque people migrated across Europe and the Americas in the following centuries, the UCLARAY name traveled with them. Pedro Jose de Uclaray (1789-1862) was a Basque military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later settled in Argentina. His descendants can be found across South America today.

Another notable bearer was the French novelist and playwright Émile Uclaray (1858-1931), whose works often drew inspiration from his Basque heritage and the rugged landscapes of the Pyrenees region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Uclaray

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

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 Uclaray 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.

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

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

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