The Zuniga surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 56,347 people carried this name — #600 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,240 people counted. That is up 44% from 39,057 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Zuniga surname

From the Basque word for “narrow pass, gorge”.

From Basque Eztúñiga, the original name of the place Zúñiga, from Basque iztun (“gorge, narrow pass”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (es.wiktionary.org, the Spanish edition) — entry «Zúñiga», by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · translated from Spanish and condensed.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 11,352 people named Zuniga 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 Neuquén.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Neuquén 2,494
Buenos Aires Province 2,075
Río Negro 1,471
Mendoza 1,293
Chubut 659
City of Buenos Aires 614
Santa Cruz 491
Córdoba 396

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

111 people named Zuniga live in Switzerland.

They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

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

Where they live today

Vaud 26
Geneva 25
Zurich 23
Fribourg 10
Basel-Stadt 7
Bern 6
Zug 4
Ticino 4

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 France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 20 people named Zuniga.

Most of them — 14 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Hautes-Alpes.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 14
Hautes-Alpes 3
Haute-Garonne 3

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

43 people named Zuniga is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 43

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Zuniga in American newspapers,
1901–1944.

Newspaper page from Der Deutsche Correspondent carrying the name Zuniga
Der Deutsche Correspondent 1901-03-24
Newspaper page from El Tucsonense carrying the name Zuniga
El Tucsonense 1923-09-15
Newspaper page from La Gaceta carrying the name Zuniga
La Gaceta 1944-08-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,696 pages in all carry the name.

In the public record

People named Zuniga,
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 States771 records

771 records of the Zuniga name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 527
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 130
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 93
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Efrain Zuniga

    Born 1945; from San Francisco, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Phu Yen, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Ruben R. Zuniga

    Born 1920 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at San Antonio; stenographer from Maverick County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jose-T. Zuniga

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Yucatan from Havana, aged 25; lawyer. From Spain.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 771 records for Zuniga 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) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Zuniga 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 Georges Guy Albert Zuniga

    Born 1931 in Gap (Hautes-Alpes); died 1995 in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).

    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 Zuniga.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Zuniga 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.

See the Zuniga volume
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