Find out how popular the last name Arca is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Arca.

Arca, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Arca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arca in America

Arca is the 32792nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arca surname appeared 700 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Arca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arca to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Arca

The surname "ARCA" is believed to have originated in Italy, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Italian word "arca," meaning "chest" or "ark," possibly referring to a trade or occupation involving the making or transportation of these storage containers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Padovano," a collection of medieval documents from the city of Padua, where a certain "Iohannes Arca" is mentioned in a document dated 1281.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the region of Tuscany, with references to individuals such as "Mone Arca" and "Piero Arca" found in the "Libro della Taglia" (tax records) of the city of Siena from the years 1349 and 1372, respectively.

During the Renaissance period, the name gained prominence with the birth of the renowned Italian architect and military engineer, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546), whose full name was Antonio Cordini Arca. He was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings in Rome, including the Palazzo Farnese and the Church of San Biagio in Montepulciano.

Another notable figure bearing the surname "ARCA" was the Italian painter and sculptor, Giuseppe Arca (1672-1733), who was born in the town of Cesena in the Emilia-Romagna region. His works can be found in various churches and galleries throughout Italy, with his most famous piece being the "Assumption of the Virgin" altarpiece in the Cathedral of Cesena.

In the 19th century, the name was associated with the Italian writer and journalist, Niccolò Arca (1822-1887), who was born in Naples and is best known for his satirical works and contributions to various newspapers and literary magazines of the time.

Additionally, the name "ARCA" has been linked to several place names throughout Italy, such as the village of Arca in the province of Trento, and the Arca River, a tributary of the Po River in the region of Emilia-Romagna.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arca

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Arca.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Arca was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Arca has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Arca was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Arca, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!