The Leyva surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 26,153 people carried this name — #1,351 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,300 people counted. That is up 39% from 18,769 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Leyva surname

A surname from Spanish, mostly known as the second surname of the leaders of the disbanded Mexican Beltrán-Leyva drug cartel.

From Spanish, variant of Leiva.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Leyva» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 1,988 people named Leyva live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 608
Córdoba 553
City of Buenos Aires 219
Neuquén 120
Santa Fe 94
Santiago del Estero 87
Tucumán 57
Chaco 37

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

24 people named Leyva live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Solothurn.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Solothurn 8
Basel-Landschaft 5
Bern 4
Lucerne 4
Zurich 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Leyva in American newspapers,
1877–1911.

Newspaper page from New York Dispatch carrying the name Leyva
New York Dispatch 1877-04-22
Newspaper page from The Daily Missoulian carrying the name Leyva
The Daily Missoulian 1909-02-11
Newspaper page from The Rice Belt Journal carrying the name Leyva
The Rice Belt Journal 1911-02-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,261 pages in all carry the name.

In the public record

People named Leyva,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States657 records

657 records of the Leyva name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 469
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 97
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 87
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Leyva

    Born 1946; from El Paso, Texas. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Simon Leyva

    Born 1924 in Texas. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Bliss El Paso; farm hand from El Paso County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Marcos C. Leyva

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1890, died 1964; buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 657 records for Leyva in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Leyva name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Maria Del Pilar Leyva

    Born 1920 in Spain; died 1998 in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Vaucluse).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Clelia Leyva

    Born 1917 in Morocco; died 1992 in Saint-Féliu-d'Avall (Pyrénées-Orientales).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Leyva.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Leyva is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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