2000
#33,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 632
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.23
Rare Last name
Urizar
A Basque surname derived from the Spanish words "uri" meaning village and "zar" meaning old.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,225 Americans carry the last name Urizar. That puts it at #24,425 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 279,799 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Urizar 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
1.2K
1 in 279,799
Census rank
#24,425
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,068 bearers of the surname Urizar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24425th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Urizar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Urizar
The surname URIZAR is of Basque origin, tracing its roots back to the northern region of Spain and southwestern France known as the Basque Country. The name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, with records indicating its presence as early as the 12th century.
One of the earliest known references to the URIZAR surname can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 11th century. This cartulary contains various documents and records from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain.
The name URIZAR is believed to have originated from the Basque words "uri" meaning "town" or "village" and "zar" meaning "old" or "ancient." This suggests that the surname may have initially been used to identify individuals or families associated with an old or ancient town or settlement in the Basque region.
Notably, the URIZAR surname has been associated with several prominent figures throughout history. One such individual was Juan de Urizar, a 16th-century Basque navigator and explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation voyage in the early 1500s.
Another notable bearer of the URIZAR surname was Pedro de Urizar, a 17th-century Spanish military officer and governor of Chile. He played a significant role in the Arauco War, a long-standing conflict between the Spanish colonists and the Mapuche people in present-day Chile.
In the 19th century, Tomás de Urizar y Ortuño (1805-1879) was a Spanish politician and writer who served as a deputy in the Spanish Cortes and authored several works on history and literature.
The URIZAR surname has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and literature. Mariano José de Urizar (1790-1851) was a Spanish playwright and poet who wrote several successful comedies and dramas.
Additionally, Jesús de Urizar (1925-2016) was a prominent Basque sculptor known for his abstract and monumental works, many of which can be found in public spaces throughout Spain and the Basque Country.
While the URIZAR surname has its roots in the Basque region, it has since spread to other parts of Spain and beyond, with bearers of the name found in various countries around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Urizar
Among Census respondents with the surname Urizar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Urizar 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 Urizar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 999
- White5.5% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- Black or African American0.4% · 4
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Urizar
Urizar 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
#26,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 910
+278 bearers (+44.0%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Up 7,246 places
2020
#24,425
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,068
+158 bearers (+17.4%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Up 2,322 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,993 | 632 | 0.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,747 | 910 | 0.31 | +278 bearers (+44.0%) | Up 7,246 places |
| 2020 | #24,425 | 1,068 | 0.36 | +158 bearers (+17.4%) | Up 2,322 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 Urizar 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 | #26,747 | #24,425 | 8.7% |
| Count | 910 | 1,068 | 17.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.36 | 15.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Urizar bearers went from 910 to 1,068 (+17.4% change). The surname moved up 2,322 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,747 to #24,425.
FAQ
Urizar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Urizar?
Name Census estimates that about 1,225 living Americans carry the surname Urizar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 279,799 residents.
How common is Urizar?
Urizar ranks #24,425 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.36 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 1,068 people with the surname Urizar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,225), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.36 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 Urizar.
Has Urizar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Urizar went from 910 recorded bearers to 1,068. That is an increase of 158 (+17.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #26,747 to #24,425.
What does the Census say about the background of Urizar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Urizar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Urizar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (999 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Urizar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.5%), White (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Urizar (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 Urizar mean?
A Basque surname derived from the Spanish words "uri" meaning village and "zar" meaning old. 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 Urizar (0.36 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 Urizar?
Find out how many people have the last name Urizar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.