This list of Hispanic last names starting with U is based on the 2010 United States census.
I have only included “U” surnames where at least 60% of the holders declared that they were Hispanic.
We’ve got the historic origins and meanings of the most common names in our lists. We also take a look at the Mexican census of 1930 and show comparisons with the United States.
Most Common Hispanic Last Names Beginning With U
These were the most common Hispanic surnames in the 2010 census.
Uribe
There were over twenty-four thousand people named Uribe in the United States in 2010. About 94% ticked the Hispanic box.
The meaning comes from the words for the lower part of a village or settlement. The early European bearers likely lived in those parts of a village.
Some may also have come from a town of the same name in Biscay, a Spanish province. Historically, the town of Uribe was in Basque Country.
Urbina
The surname Urbina had over fifteen thousand bearers in the 2010 census. Nearly 94% declared as Hispanic.
The meaning comes from the words for where two bodies of water come together.
Early bearers of the name likely lived near a confluence of rivers.
Ulloa
There were over thirteen thousand people named Ulloa in the 2010 census with about 95% declaring as Hispanic.
Historically, the earliest bearers likely lived in one of two places called Ulloa in Galicia in Spain.
Hispanic Surnames From Ugalde To Urbina
We’ve already discussed the names of Urbina and Ulloa that appear in this section.
So, let’s look at Umana instead. This may be a spelling variant of the name Omana.
Historically, early European bearers may have come from somewhere like Las Omanas in the province of Leon.
Similarly, the name Umanzor may be a variant of Almanzor. Pico Almanzor is the highest mountain in central Spain.
Early bearers likely lived near that mountain range.
| Last Name | # Who Declared Hispanic | % Declared Hispanic | # Total Holders |
| Ugalde | 3,256 | 85.93% | 3,789 |
| Ugarte | 2,975 | 90.92% | 3,272 |
| Ulibarri | 2,224 | 73.81% | 3,013 |
| Ulloa | 12,411 | 94.50% | 13,133 |
| Umana | 5,927 | 92.23% | 6,426 |
| Umanzor | 3,343 | 97.41% | 3,432 |
| Unzueta | 952 | 91.89% | 1,036 |
| Uranga | 1,068 | 84.36% | 1,266 |
| Urbano | 2,755 | 63.07% | 4,368 |
| Urbieta | 658 | 95.50% | 689 |
| Urbina | 14,110 | 93.72% | 15,055 |
From Urdaneta To Urieta
We also covered Uribe in the earlier section of the most common names.
Let’s take a look at Urias which has interesting origins.
The name appears in the Bible as the name of a fierce warrior in King David’s army. The English version is Uriah.
The meaning comes from the Hebrew words for “God is light”.
| Last Name | # Who Declared Hispanic | % Declared Hispanic | # Total Holders |
| Urdaneta | 697 | 89.24% | 781 |
| Urdiales | 822 | 87.17% | 943 |
| Urena | 10,527 | 95.13% | 11,066 |
| Urenda | 751 | 91.92% | 817 |
| Ureno | 1,105 | 95.84% | 1,153 |
| Uresti | 1,924 | 90.97% | 2,115 |
| Urgiles | 1,001 | 96.81% | 1,034 |
| Uriarte | 3,084 | 85.74% | 3,597 |
| Urias | 7,449 | 93.80% | 7,941 |
| Uribe | 23,138 | 94.01% | 24,612 |
| Uriegas | 708 | 90.77% | 780 |
| Urieta | 761 | 96.45% | 789 |
From Urioste To Uvalle
Urrutia is the most common name in this section.
The early origins can be found in Basque Country. There are two places of that name in Biscay. Biscay is now a province in Spain.
| Last Name | # Who Declared Hispanic | % Declared Hispanic | # Total Holders |
| Urioste | 854 | 83.48% | 1,023 |
| Uriostegui | 3,092 | 97.32% | 3,177 |
| Urizar | 860 | 94.51% | 910 |
| Urquidez | 985 | 88.18% | 1,117 |
| Urquidi | 801 | 85.76% | 934 |
| Urquilla | 775 | 95.68% | 810 |
| Urquiza | 2,099 | 95.93% | 2,188 |
| Urquizo | 798 | 95.80% | 833 |
| Urrea | 2,150 | 91.10% | 2,360 |
| Urrutia | 6,346 | 88.04% | 7,208 |
| Urzua | 1,676 | 95.39% | 1,757 |
| Uscanga | 666 | 97.08% | 686 |
| Uvalle | 930 | 93.75% | 992 |
Common Mexican Last Names Starting With U
The Mexican government doesn’t release data from recent censuses. However, the 1930 Mexican census is available.
Let’s compare the numbers from 1930 Mexico with the names I’ve already discussed. I’ve put the U.S. Hispanic numbers in this table.
You can see that they don’t exactly align in terms of how common they are in the two different countries.
| Last Name | Mexico 1930 | U.S. 2010 |
| Uribe | 6,557 | 23,138 |
| Urbina | 3,948 | 14,110 |
| Ulloa | 2,182 | 12,411 |
| Urias | 2,453 | 7,449 |
| Urrutia | 1,037 | 6,346 |
| Umana | 74 | 5,927 |
| Umanzor | 0 | 3,343 |
To be clear, the name Umanzor didn’t appear in the 1930 Mexican census.
Can’t Find A Surname That You Know?
The surname may have fallen under our 60% threshold for holders declaring themselves as Hispanic.
You can use our surname ranking tool, which shows you where any last name ranks in the U.S. census.
