The Zayas surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,045 people carried this name — #4,414 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,600 people counted. That is up 26% from 6,410 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Zayas surname

Borrowed from the Spanish habitational surname Zayas, which is from Basque zai (“watchman, guard”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Zayas» (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 3,668 people named Zayas 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 1,619
Formosa 684
Misiones 381
City of Buenos Aires 244
Chaco 148
Santa Fe 143
Córdoba 100
Tucumán 92

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

In print

Zayas in American newspapers,
1906–1920.

Newspaper page from The Star And Newark Advertiser carrying the name Zayas
The Star And Newark Advertiser 1909-02-02
Newspaper page from The Butte Daily Bulletin carrying the name Zayas
The Butte Daily Bulletin 1920-09-22
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Zayas
Daily Kennebec Journal 1906-09-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,661 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Zayas,
with a public archive behind them.

  • María de Zayas
    María de Zayas 1590–1653 · writer
  • José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón
    José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón 1772–1827 · military personnel
  • José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón
    José Pascual de Zayas y Chacón 1772–1827 · military personnel
  • Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso
    Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso 1861–1934 · writer
  • Marius de Zayas
    Marius de Zayas 1880–1961 · writer
  • Juana de Saavedra y Zayas-Lira 1615–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Zayas,
in the records of 3 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 States245 records

245 records of the Zayas name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 90
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 75
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 39
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Philip B. Zayas

    Born 1906. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; waiter from New York County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1970, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jose Enrique Zayas

    Born 1951; from High Point, North Carolina. U.S. Army, chaplain assistant; died in an accident 1971 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Felipe Diaz Zayas

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1941, died 1985; buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

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

Showing 3 of 245 records for Zayas in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Zayas 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 Antigono Zayas

    Born 1911 in Spain; died 1995 in Guéret (Creuse).

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

    Born 1910 in Spain; died 1998 in Béziers (Hérault).

    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).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Zayas name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Michael Zayas

    From Baranowo, Posen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 5 August 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Zayas.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Zayas is.
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