Urias last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Urias

A Spanish surname derived from the given name Uriah, meaning "God is my light" or "flame of God."

Urias, 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 Urias surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urias in America

Urias is the 4471st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urias surname appeared 7,941 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Urias.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urias 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 4471 5463 -19.97%
Count 7,941 5,857 30.21%
Proportion per 100k 2.69 2.17 21.40%

The history of the last name Urias

The surname URIAS is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. Its roots can be traced back to the Latin name "Uriah," which was derived from the Hebrew name "Uriyah," meaning "the Lord is my light." This name was borne by a Hittite soldier mentioned in the Bible.

The earliest recorded instances of the name URIAS date back to the 12th century in Aragon, a region in northeastern Spain. It is possible that the surname was adopted by Jewish families who settled in this area after being expelled from other parts of Europe. The name may have also been adopted by converts to Christianity during the Reconquista period.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname URIAS was Rodrigo Urias, a nobleman who lived in Zaragoza, Spain, during the 13th century. Historical records indicate that he was a prominent figure in the court of King James I of Aragon (1208-1276).

In the 14th century, the surname URIAS appeared in various local records and manuscripts across Spain, including the Libro de la Cadena, a historical document from the city of Jaca in Aragon. This document mentions several individuals with the surname URIAS, suggesting that the name had become well-established in the region by that time.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the URIAS surname spread throughout Spain and its territories. Notable figures from this period include Juan Urias (c. 1480-1550), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés, and Fray Alonso Urias (1531-1599), a Franciscan friar and missionary who played a significant role in the evangelization of New Spain (present-day Mexico and parts of the United States).

In the 17th century, the URIAS surname appeared in various parts of Latin America, reflecting the Spanish colonization of the Americas. One notable figure was Pedro Urias de la Vega (1631-1703), a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of Chile from 1688 to 1694.

Throughout history, the URIAS surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Urías, Urrías, and Urría. It has also been associated with certain place names in Spain, such as Uría (a municipality in Asturias) and Uriarte (a small town in the Basque Country).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urias

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

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 Urias was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.40% 429
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.20% 16
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.19% 15
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 16
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.20% 16
Hispanic Origin 93.80% 7,449

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 5.40% 7.12% -27.48%
Black 0.20% 0.14% 35.29%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.19% 0.27% -34.78%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 0.22% -9.52%
Two or More Races 0.20% 0.43% -73.02%
Hispanic 93.80% 91.82% 2.13%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Urias last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/urias-surname-popularity/.

"Urias last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/urias-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

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

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