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

Urquieta, 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 Urquieta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urquieta in America

Urquieta is the 46037th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urquieta surname appeared 463 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 Urquieta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urquieta 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 Urquieta

The surname Urquieta originates from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, tracing its roots back to the late medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Basque words "ur" meaning water and "kieta" meaning small stream or brook, suggesting a connection to a geographical feature or a specific location near a water source.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Urquieta can be found in the Basque census records from the 16th century, where it appeared as "Urquieta" and variations like "Urchieta" and "Urqueta." These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and spelling conventions of the time.

In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the name Urquieta was Juan de Urquieta, a Basque merchant and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Records indicate that he was born in the town of Bilbao in 1620 and died in Havana, Cuba, in 1687.

Another historical figure with the surname Urquieta was Pedro Urquieta, a Basque soldier who fought in the Spanish army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in the village of Urquieta (now part of the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz) in 1785 and participated in several battles against the French forces before his death in 1814.

In the 19th century, the name Urquieta was associated with the Basque industrialist and entrepreneur, Joaquín Urquieta, who established a successful textile manufacturing business in the city of Bilbao. He was born in 1825 and played a significant role in the region's economic development until his death in 1892.

Another notable individual with the surname Urquieta was María Urquieta, a Basque writer and educator who lived from 1873 to 1945. She was known for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of the Basque language and culture, authoring several books and teaching in Basque schools.

Towards the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the Urquieta name began to spread beyond the Basque region as families immigrated to other parts of Spain and abroad. For instance, Ignacio Urquieta, born in 1890 in the town of Guernica, was a prominent Basque nationalist and politician who advocated for Basque autonomy within Spain until his death in 1968.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urquieta

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

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

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

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