Aranza

The name of a popular Mexican singer and a telenovela character, Aranza incredibly rose out of obscurity to become Number 607 in the US in 2014.

The name comes from Arantzazu, a shrine associated with the Virgin Mary in Basque Country, Spain. Legend has it that a shepherd discovered a statue of Mary in a hawthorn bush in 1468 and exclaimed, "Arantzan? Zu?"—"You? Among the thorns?" It's been a pilgrimage site ever since, and occasionally a given name, too.

Pronounced uh-RAHN-zuh.

As of October 2026, Aranza ranked #1486 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #610 in 2014.