2000
#49,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 402
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Rare Last name
Urdaneta
A surname originating from a town or village name in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,086 Americans carry the last name Urdaneta. That puts it at #15,502 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,312 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Urdaneta surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 164,312
Census rank
#15,502
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,819 bearers of the surname Urdaneta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15502nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Urdaneta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Urdaneta
The surname Urdaneta has its origins in the Basque region of Spain. It is believed to have emerged in the 15th or 16th century, derived from the Basque words "urdan" meaning "boar" and "eta" meaning "belonging to." This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked with boars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Urdaneta appears in a 16th-century document from the town of Villarreal de Alava, where a certain Andrés de Urdaneta is mentioned. This individual may have been related to the famous explorer and navigator Andrés de Urdaneta (1508-1568), who was part of the Spanish expedition that first circumnavigated the globe.
The name Urdaneta is also found in historical records from the nearby provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, indicating its spread across the Basque Country. Variations in spelling, such as Urdanibia and Urdanibidea, are seen in some of these early records.
In the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname Urdaneta was Juan de Urdaneta (1608-1668), a Spanish soldier and governor of the Philippines. Another prominent individual was the 18th-century Spanish naval officer and explorer Antonio de Urdaneta y Rentería (1700-1768), who conducted expeditions in the Pacific Ocean.
During the 19th century, the name Urdaneta gained recognition through the work of Agustín de Urdaneta (1810-1886), a Spanish military officer and diplomat who served as the governor-general of the Philippines from 1865 to 1867.
More recently, the surname Urdaneta has been associated with various individuals, such as the Mexican architect and urban planner Mario Urdaneta (1920-2003), known for his work in Mexico City. Additionally, Andrés Urdaneta Guzmán (1910-1989) was a Colombian politician and diplomat who served as the president of the Organization of American States from 1968 to 1970.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Urdaneta
Among Census respondents with the surname Urdaneta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Urdaneta bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Urdaneta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 1,700
- White4.5% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 3
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Urdaneta
Urdaneta appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#30,043
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 781
+379 bearers (+94.3%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Up 19,116 places
2020
#15,502
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,819
+1,038 bearers (+132.9%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 14,541 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,159 | 402 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #30,043 | 781 | 0.26 | +379 bearers (+94.3%) | Up 19,116 places |
| 2020 | #15,502 | 1,819 | 0.61 | +1,038 bearers (+132.9%) | Up 14,541 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Urdaneta surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #30,043 | #15,502 | 48.4% |
| Count | 781 | 1,819 | 132.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.26 | 0.61 | 134.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Urdaneta bearers went from 781 to 1,819 (+132.9% change). The surname moved up 14,541 positions in the national ranking, going from #30,043 to #15,502.
FAQ
Urdaneta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Urdaneta?
Name Census estimates that about 2,086 living Americans carry the surname Urdaneta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,312 residents.
How common is Urdaneta?
Urdaneta ranks #15,502 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,819 people with the surname Urdaneta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,086), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Urdaneta.
Has Urdaneta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Urdaneta went from 781 recorded bearers to 1,819. That is an increase of 1,038 (+132.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #30,043 to #15,502.
What does the Census say about the background of Urdaneta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Urdaneta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Urdaneta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,700 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Urdaneta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.5%), White (4.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Urdaneta (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Urdaneta mean?
A surname originating from a town or village name in Spain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Urdaneta (0.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Urdaneta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.