2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Urita
A surname derived from a Japanese place name or region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Urita. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Urita 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Urita in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Urita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.5%) and White (8.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Urita
Among Census respondents with the surname Urita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.5%) and White (8.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Urita 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 Urita surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.3% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander23.5% · 23
- White8.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Urita
Urita appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-14 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,016 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 9,016 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 Urita 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 | #147,253 | #156,269 | -6.1% |
| Count | 112 | 98 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Urita bearers went from 112 to 98 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 9,016 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #156,269.
FAQ
Urita surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Urita?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Urita. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Urita?
Urita ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 98 people with the surname Urita. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Urita.
Has Urita become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Urita went from 112 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Urita?
Among Census respondents with the surname Urita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.5%) and White (8.2%). 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 Urita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.3% (62 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Urita appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (63.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (23.5%), White (8.2%). 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 Urita (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 Urita mean?
A surname derived from a Japanese place name or region. 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 Urita (0.03 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 have the last name Urita?
If you just want to know how many people are called Urita, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.