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

Urita, 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 Urita surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urita in America

Urita is the 147253rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urita surname appeared 112 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 Urita.

The history of the last name Urita

The surname URITA has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France, where it first emerged in the medieval period. The name is thought to derive from the Basque word "uri," meaning "town" or "village," combined with the suffix "-ta," which denotes belonging or origin. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone from a specific town or village.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the URITA surname can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that documents the pilgrimages and histories of the Camino de Santiago. The name appears in reference to a family residing in the village of Urita, located in the province of Álava in the Basque Country.

Throughout the Middle Ages, various spellings of the name emerged, such as Urieta, Uriata, and Urieta, reflecting regional linguistic variations and the fluidity of spelling conventions at the time. The name was also associated with several place names in the Basque region, such as Uritarri, Uritarra, and Uritain.

Notable individuals bearing the URITA surname include Juan de Urita (1520-1583), a Basque merchant and explorer who accompanied Francisco Pizarro on his expeditions to Peru. Another notable figure was María de Urita (1568-1642), a respected scholar and writer who authored several works on Basque literature and culture.

In the 17th century, the URITA name appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, as some members of the family were persecuted for their suspected converso (converted Jewish) ancestry. This period saw the dispersal of the Urita family across Spain and the Americas, with branches establishing themselves in cities like Seville, Cádiz, and Lima.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, individuals with the URITA surname continued to make their mark in various fields. Pedro de Urita (1712-1789) was a renowned architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the Basque Country, while Juana Urita (1832-1901) was a celebrated poet and playwright whose works explored themes of Basque identity and culture.

Other notable bearers of the URITA name include Ignacio Urita (1856-1923), a Basque politician and advocate for regional autonomy, and María Luisa Urita (1895-1976), a pioneering educator who established several schools for girls in the Basque region and fought for women's rights and education.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urita

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!