Garcia
A masculine Spanish name derived from the Germanic Gar-zea meaning "spearman."
Name Census estimates that about 369 living Americans carry the first name Garcia. It is a predominantly male name (92.2% of registrations). The average person named Garcia today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Garcia births was 1953 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Garcia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
369
~ 1 in 928,874 Americans
Peak year
1953
17 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2015 SSA rank
#10,797
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Garcia
Garcia leans heavily male at 92.2% of total registrations, but 36 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Garcia as a male name
- Ranked #12,708 in 2015
- 5 male births in 2015
- Peak: 1958 (14 births)
Garcia as a female name
- Ranked #10,797 in 1988
- 6 female births in 1988
- Peak: 1986 (8 births)
Popularity
Garcia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Garcia from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 102 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Garcia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Garcia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Garcias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Garcia
The name Garcia has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is derived from the Visigothic name Garcia, which is a combination of the Germanic elements "gair" meaning "spear" and "rik" meaning "power" or "ruler." The name Garcia was prevalent in Spain during the Middle Ages and is believed to have first appeared in written records around the 9th or 10th century.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Garcia was Garcia Fernandez, a Count of Castile who lived in the 10th century. He played a significant role in the struggle against the Moorish rulers of the Iberian Peninsula during that time.
In the 11th century, Garcia Sanchez III was the King of Navarre, a kingdom in the Pyrenees region between modern-day Spain and France. He ruled from 1035 to 1054 and was known for his efforts to maintain the independence of Navarre from the growing power of the Kingdom of Castile.
Another notable figure with the name Garcia was Garcia de Toledo, a Spanish conquistador and explorer who lived in the 16th century. He was involved in the conquest of Peru and served as the governor of Cuba from 1565 to 1568.
In the realm of literature, Garcia Lorca, the renowned Spanish poet and playwright, stands out. Born in 1898 and tragically killed during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, he is considered one of the most influential figures in Spanish literature and is celebrated for his works such as "Romancero Gitano" and "Bodas de Sangre."
Moving to the 20th century, Garcia Marquez, the Colombian novelist and Nobel Prize laureate, is one of the most famous bearers of the name. Born in 1927, he is best known for his novels, including "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera," which have been widely acclaimed for their magical realism and literary brilliance.
People
Garcia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Garcia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Garcia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Garcia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 369 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Garcia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 928,874 US residents.
Is Garcia a common name?
We classify Garcia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 459 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Garcia most popular?
The single biggest year for Garcia was 1953, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Garcia is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Garcia a male name?
Yes, 92.2% of people registered as Garcia in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.