Explore the Family Name Olaya

The meaning of Olaya

Spanish: variant of Olalla, from the female personal name Olalla, from Greek Eulalia (see Hillary 2). It can be a habitational name from Olalla in Teruel or from any of the places containing the name of this saint (e.g. Santa Olalla or Santolaya in Asturias). This surname is most common in Colombia.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Olaya has been growing in popularity over the years. In 2000, it ranked 36,917 in the United States but rose to 27,228 by 2010, indicating an increase of 26.25%. The count of individuals with this surname also jumped from 570 in 2000 to 888 in 2010, showing a substantial growth of 55.79%. The proportion of people per 100k with this surname also grew from 0.21 to 0.3 during this period, marking a rise of 42.86%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#36,917	#27,228	26.25%
Count	570	888	55.79%
Proportion per 100k	0.21	0.3	42.86%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Olaya

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity of those bearing the Olaya surname. In 2000, 86.84% identified as Hispanic, and this figure increased slightly to 90.65% in 2010. Those identifying as White made up 5.44% of the total in 2000, decreasing to 4.84% in 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander dropped from 4.39% in 2000 to 2.93% in 2010. Interestingly, the proportion claiming two or more ethnicities saw a significant decrease from 2.11% to 0.56% over this decade. No individuals identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	86.84%	90.65%	4.39%
White	5.44%	4.84%	-11.03%
Asian/Pacific Islander	4.39%	2.93%	-33.26%
Two or More Races	2.11%	0.56%	-73.46%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%