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

Urrea, 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 Urrea surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urrea in America

Urrea is the 13007th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urrea surname appeared 2,360 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Urrea.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urrea 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 Urrea

The surname Urrea originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "urria," which means "bear" in the Basque language. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a bear-inhabited area or had some association with bears.

The earliest known record of the Urrea surname dates back to the 12th century. In 1195, a document from the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta in the province of Soria mentioned a person named Rodrigo de Urrea.

The Urrea family was prominent in the Kingdom of Aragon during the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable member was Lope Fernández de Urrea, a military leader and diplomat who served under King James II of Aragon in the late 13th century.

In the 15th century, the Urrea family established a noble lineage in the region of Navarre. Juan de Urrea (1420-1475) was a renowned poet and member of the court of King Juan II of Aragon. His son, Pedro Manuel de Urrea (1486-1524), was also a celebrated writer and translator.

The name Urrea can be found in various historical records from different regions of Spain, such as Catalonia, Aragon, and Navarre. Variations in spelling include Urría, Urrea, and Urria.

Another notable figure with the Urrea surname was Martín de Urrea y Arizmendi (1565-1624), a Spanish military officer and explorer who served as the Governor of New Mexico from 1601 to 1608. He played a significant role in the early exploration and colonization of the American Southwest.

In the 18th century, Gaspar de Urrea y Lazcano (1700-1763) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Nueva Vizcaya (present-day northern Mexico) from 1751 to 1760.

The Urrea surname has also been associated with several places in Spain, such as Urrea de Gaén in Teruel, Urrea de Jalón in Zaragoza, and Urrea de León in Zamora, suggesting that the name may have been derived from these locations or vice versa.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urrea

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

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

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

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