2000
#6,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,225
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.94
Rare Last name
Urrutia
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone living near a spring or fountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,482 Americans carry the last name Urrutia. That puts it at #4,646 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,410 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Urrutia 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
8.5K
1 in 40,410
Census rank
#4,646
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,397 bearers of the surname Urrutia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4646th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Urrutia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Urrutia
The surname Urrutia has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France. It is a locational name, derived from the Basque word 'urrutia', meaning 'far away' or 'distant'. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived at a remote or distant location.
The name first appeared in historical records in the 13th century, with mentions of individuals bearing the surname in various Basque regions. One of the earliest recorded instances is found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript dating back to the late 12th century, which mentions a certain Lope Urrutia.
In the 15th century, the name is found in the Libro del Monasterio de Oña, a historical document from the Burgos region of Spain, which lists several individuals with the surname Urrutia. This suggests that the name had spread from its Basque origins to other parts of northern Spain by this time.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Juan de Urrutia, a 16th-century Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He is mentioned in various historical accounts of the time, including Bernal Díaz del Castillo's "True History of the Conquest of New Spain".
Another prominent figure was José Ignacio de Urrutia y las Casas (1696-1768), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Havana, Cuba, from 1747 to 1761. He played a significant role in the fortification and defense of the city during his tenure.
In the 19th century, Ignacio Urrutia (1793-1870) was a prominent Mexican lawyer and politician who served as a magistrate and played a role in the drafting of the Mexican Constitution of 1857.
Manuel Urrutia Lleó (1901-1981) was a prominent Cuban politician and lawyer who served as the 20th President of Cuba from 1959 to 1960, after the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro.
Javier Urrutia (born 1952) is a Spanish businessman and sports administrator who served as the president of Athletic Bilbao, one of the most successful football clubs in Spain, from 2011 to 2019.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Urrutia
Among Census respondents with the surname Urrutia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Urrutia 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 Urrutia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.5% · 6,476
- White9.2% · 680
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 98
- Black or African American1.0% · 71
- Two or more races0.6% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Urrutia
Urrutia 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
#4,888
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,208
+1,983 bearers (+38.0%)
Per 100,000 2.44
Rank movement Up 1,167 places
2020
#4,646
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,397
+189 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Up 242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,055 | 5,225 | 1.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,888 | 7,208 | 2.44 | +1,983 bearers (+38.0%) | Up 1,167 places |
| 2020 | #4,646 | 7,397 | 2.47 | +189 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 242 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 Urrutia 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 | #4,888 | #4,646 | 5.0% |
| Count | 7,208 | 7,397 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.44 | 2.47 | 1.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Urrutia bearers went from 7,208 to 7,397 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 242 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,888 to #4,646.
FAQ
Urrutia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Urrutia?
Name Census estimates that about 8,482 living Americans carry the surname Urrutia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,410 residents.
How common is Urrutia?
Urrutia ranks #4,646 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,397 people with the surname Urrutia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,482), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Urrutia.
Has Urrutia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Urrutia went from 7,208 recorded bearers to 7,397. That is an increase of 189 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,888 to #4,646.
What does the Census say about the background of Urrutia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Urrutia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Urrutia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (6,476 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Urrutia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.5%), White (9.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Urrutia (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 Urrutia mean?
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone living near a spring or fountain. 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 Urrutia (2.47 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 Americans have the surname Urrutia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.