These are the most common Mexican last names beginning with U, ranked by how many people in Mexico have the name today.
U is unusual in that the many names here beginning with “Ur” are predominantly Basque, not Spanish. That’s about a quarter of the list.
There are also some indigenous pre-conquest names, which I’ll call out and give the meanings in the relevant sections.
These rankings come from a database of over 1.25 million workers published by Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education.
List Of Mexican Last Names Starting With U
Let’s start with the alphabetical list of names from Ubaldo to Uitzil.
Uc is the most common name in this section. Compared to the entire alphabet of names, it ranks unusually high for an indigenous name. The origins are in the Yucatec Maya word uk or uʼuk, which translates as seven.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Ubaldo | 1,940 | 25,751 |
| Uc | 279 | 68,345 |
| Ucan | 1,203 | 123,064 |
| Uco | 3,250 | |
| Udave | 3,917 | 47,791 |
| Ugalde | 807 | 8,673 |
| Ugarte | 1,304 | 9,881 |
| Ugues | 5,158 | |
| Uicab | 872 | |
| Uitz | 2,095 | 133,048 |
| Uitzil | 2,553 |
Mexican Names From Ulate to Urbiola
This section marks the start of the “Ur” surnames, with Urbina being the most common. Early bearers likely came from the Basque place of the same name in Araba, a historic province of the Basque country.
The meaning is generally interpreted a place by two waters (ur for water, bi for two).
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Ulate | 4,523 | 56,310 |
| Ulibarri | 4,523 | 10,628 |
| Ulloa | 559 | 2,743 |
| Ultreras | 4,523 | 46,811 |
| Uluac | 6,099 | |
| Unda | 4,311 | 82,044 |
| Unzueta | 2,725 | 24,222 |
| Uraga | 3,059 | 48,628 |
| Uranga | 2,725 | 20,843 |
| Urbalejo | 3,605 | 83,226 |
| Urbano | 1,150 | 7,612 |
| Urbieta | 1,880 | 33,196 |
| Urbina | 337 | 2,409 |
| Urbiola | 5,158 |
Mexican Names From Urcid to Urgell
Uresti is the most common name in this section. This Basque name is usually interpreted as being formed from two words. Many scholars agree on ur for water, but esti is linked both with honey or with hazel trees.
As a habitational name, early bearers may have lived near hazel bushes alongside rivers or springs.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Urcid | 4,098 | |
| Urdapilleta | 5,590 | |
| Urdiales | 3,163 | 26,008 |
| Urdiera | 6,099 | |
| Ureiro | 2,861 | |
| Ureña | 2,553 | 3,261 |
| Urenda | 4,311 | 29,041 |
| Ureño | 3,917 | 22,346 |
| Uresti | 1,314 | 14,197 |
| Ureta | 3,605 | 33,810 |
| Urgell | 5,590 |
Mexican Names From Uriarte to Uroza
Uribe is the most common name in this section. This Basque name is generally accepted as coming from the words uri (town or settlement) and be (below).
Early bearers likely lived in settlements built on land below a town at a higher level.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Uriarte | 1,326 | 9,085 |
| Urias | 761 | 4,471 |
| Uribe | 218 | 1,448 |
| Uriegas | 4,802 | 30,076 |
| Urieta | 3,605 | 29,793 |
| Uriostegui | 935 | 10,155 |
| Uriostigue | 5,590 | |
| Urista | 3,917 | 37,591 |
| Uriza | 3,059 | 132,206 |
| Uroza | 4,311 | 102,197 |
Mexican Names From Urquides to Ursolo
Urrutia is the highest ranked name in this section. The meaning comes from the Basque words urriti, meaning a distant place. It was likely conferred on people who settled in a place after travelling from a distance.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Urquides | 5,590 | 79,338 |
| Urquidez | 2,369 | 22,906 |
| Urquidi | 3,485 | 26,189 |
| Urquieta | 4,802 | 46,037 |
| Urquijo | 4,311 | 41,728 |
| Urquin | 4,098 | |
| Urquiza | 2,266 | 13,815 |
| Urquizo | 2,793 | 28,618 |
| Urrea | 1,740 | 13,007 |
| Urrutia | 1,141 | 4,888 |
| Ursua | 3,762 | 38,214 |
| Ursulo | 6,099 |
Mexican Names From Urtusuastegu to Uzeta
Uscanga is the most common name in this section. This is more commonly found in Mexico than in the Basque regions from where it originates. The early bearers likely came from the town of Uzcanga in Bizkaia in Spain.
Uuh is indigenous as a Yucatec Maya name. The word uh means moon, but scholars also point to huh, which is an iguana.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Urtusuastegui | 4,098 | |
| Urueta | 3,357 | 36,525 |
| Urvina | 5,158 | 47,614 |
| Urzua | 1,272 | 16,385 |
| Us | 2,793 | 75,069 |
| Uscanga | 767 | 33,316 |
| Utrera | 1,521 | 37,735 |
| Utrilla | 1,521 | |
| Uuh | 3,250 | |
| Uvalle | 1,692 | 25,037 |
| Uzarraga | 4,098 | 128,249 |
| Uzcanga | 3,605 | |
| Uzeta | 5,158 | 101,247 |
Notes About The List
The data comes from an open database of 1,256,438 federal education workers published by Mexico’s Secretaría de Educación Pública. The processed data is published on GitHub as mexican-names.
People in Mexico carry two surnames, the father’s followed by the mother’s. Our ranking uses the father’s surname, which is the one a person is normally known by.
Related lists
For surnames common among Hispanic Americans, see our list of Hispanic last names starting with U.
You can also use our surname ranking tool to check how a name ranked in the 2000 and 2010 U.S. censuses.
