Explore the Family Name Leija

The meaning of Leija

Hispanic (Mexico): possibly a Castilianized form of a Galician habitational name from Leixa, a place in Ferrol (A Coruña province). Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Mario, Javier, Manuel, Margarita, Carlos, Pedro, Ruben, Alicia, Amado, Jaime.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Leija in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Leija has grown in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 6426th and rose to 5293rd by 2010, showing a growth of 17.63%. The count of individuals with the Leija surname also increased from 4879 in 2000 to 6580 in 2010, marking a substantial increase of about 34.86%. This indicates that for every 100,000 people, the proportion bearing the Leija surname rose by 23.2% during this period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#6,426	#5,293	17.63%
Count	4,879	6,580	34.86%
Proportion per 100k	1.81	2.23	23.2%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Leija

The ethnicity breakdown of the surname Leija, according to the Decennial U.S. Census, reveals a predominantly Hispanic heritage. In 2000, 93.34% of individuals with this surname identified as Hispanic, and the figure slightly increased to 94.38% in 2010. There was also a small percentage of White individuals carrying the surname, but this decreased from 6.03% in 2000 to 4.97% in 2010. Other ethnicities, such as Black and those identifying with two or more races, had minimal representation among the Leija surname holders over the decade. The census introduced new categories in 2010, revealing a small fraction of Leija's with Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	93.34%	94.38%	1.11%
White	6.03%	4.97%	-17.58%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.24%	0%
Two or More Races	0.31%	0.17%	-45.16%
Black	0.14%	0.17%	21.43%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.08%	0%