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

Urquía, 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 Urquía surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urquía in America

Urquía is the 47186th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urquía surname appeared 450 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 Urquía.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urquía 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.

The history of the last name Urquía

The surname Urquia is of Basque origin, tracing its roots back to the regions of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "uria," meaning "town" or "village." This suggests that the name may have originated as a place name or a descriptive term for someone who hailed from a particular town or settlement.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Urquia can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval collection of documents from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. This cartulary, dating back to the 12th century, contains references to individuals bearing the surname Urquia, indicating its presence in the region during that time period.

In the 15th century, the name Urquia appeared in various historical records, including the Fuero de Vizcaya, a legal code that governed the lordship of Biscay (Vizcaya in Spanish). This document mentions individuals with the surname Urquia, suggesting their involvement in the administrative or legal affairs of the region.

A notable figure bearing the Urquia surname was Juan de Urquia, a 16th-century Spanish navigator and explorer. Born in the late 15th century, he participated in several expeditions to the Americas, including the conquest of Puerto Rico in 1508 under the command of Juan Ponce de León.

In the 17th century, the Urquia family played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of Biscay. Sebastián de Urquia (1592-1670) was a Basque priest and writer who authored several works on theology and philosophy, contributing to the intellectual discourse of his time.

Another prominent individual with the Urquia surname was Ignacio de Urquia (1701-1781), a Spanish military officer and governor of Montevideo, Uruguay, during the latter half of the 18th century. His tenure as governor was marked by efforts to fortify and develop the city's defenses and infrastructure.

Over the centuries, the Urquia surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Urquía, Urquijo, and Urquia. Some of these variations may have originated from different dialects or regional pronunciations within the Basque-speaking areas.

While the surname Urquia is most commonly associated with its Basque origins, it has since spread to other parts of Spain, as well as to Latin American countries like Mexico and Argentina, where Basque immigrants and their descendants have settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urquía

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

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 Urquía 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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Urquía has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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

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

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