Urda last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Urda

A Latinized form of the Polish surname Wróda, itself derived from a nickname for an uneasy or restless person.

Urda, 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 Urda surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urda in America

Urda is the 44808th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urda surname appeared 479 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 Urda.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urda 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 44808 46240 -3.15%
Count 479 434 9.86%
Proportion per 100k 0.16 0.16 0.00%

The history of the last name Urda

The surname Urda has its origins in Spain, specifically in the northern region of Cantabria. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century. The name is derived from the Cantabrian word "urda," which means "bear" in the ancient Cantabrian language.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Urda can be found in a document from the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, dated 1187. This document mentions a person named Gonzalo Urda, who was a landowner in the area. The surname is also mentioned in a manuscript from the 13th century, which lists several families with the name Urda living in the villages around the town of Cabuérniga.

In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Urda was Juan Urda, a military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors. He was born in the town of Cabezón de la Sal in 1435 and played a significant role in the capture of Granada in 1492.

Another prominent individual with the Urda surname was Pedro Urda, a writer and poet who lived in the 16th century. He was born in the village of Pesués in 1520 and is known for his work titled "Cantar de los Montes de Cantabria," a poetic tribute to the beauty of the Cantabrian mountains.

In the 17th century, a family with the surname Urda owned a large estate in the town of Liébana, which was mentioned in a legal document from 1645. This document also refers to a place name called "Llano de Urda," which was likely named after the family.

Other notable individuals with the surname Urda include:

  1. Tomás Urda (1780-1856), a prominent architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Cantabria.
  2. Dolores Urda (1825-1901), a philanthropist and founder of an orphanage in the city of Santander.
  3. Ramón Urda (1865-1932), a renowned painter known for his landscapes depicting the Cantabrian countryside.
  4. Javier Urda (1910-1985), a linguist and scholar who studied the Cantabrian language and its influence on the Spanish language.
  5. Marta Urda (1950-present), a contemporary writer and poet who has published several books celebrating the cultural heritage of Cantabria.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urda

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

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 Urda was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.28% 442
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.67% 8
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.67% 8
Hispanic Origin 4.38% 21

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.28% 92.63% -0.38%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.67% 1.38% 19.02%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.67% 1.61% 3.66%
Hispanic 4.38% 3.92% 11.08%

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

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

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"Urda last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/urda-surname-popularity/.

"Urda last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/urda-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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