Aroca last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Aroca

A Catalan surname derived from the town of Aroca in Spain.

Aroca, 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 Aroca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aroca in America

Aroca is the 99845th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aroca surname appeared 181 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 Aroca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aroca 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 99845 104257 -4.32%
Count 181 159 12.94%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.06 0.00%

The history of the last name Aroca

The surname AROCA is believed to have originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "roca," which means "rock" or "stone." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive word used to identify a person who lived near a prominent rock formation or stony area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name AROCA can be found in the archives of the Kingdom of Aragon, where a certain Pedro de Aroca is mentioned in a document dated 1248. This suggests that the name was already in use by the 13th century in the region that is now northeastern Spain.

In the late 15th century, the name AROCA appears in records from the city of Valencia, where a family bearing this surname held a prominent position among the local nobility. One notable member of this family was Juan de Aroca, a influential merchant and landowner who lived from 1472 to 1534.

The name AROCA also has connections to the Basque region of Spain, where it may have evolved from the Basque word "aroca," which means "rocky place." This lends credence to the theory that the name originated as a descriptive term for someone living near a rocky or stony area.

Over the centuries, the name AROCA has been associated with several notable individuals. One example is Miguel de Aroca, a Spanish explorer who accompanied the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century.

Another prominent figure was Diego de Aroca, a Spanish military commander who played a key role in the conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru during the 1530s. He was born in Andalusia in 1498 and died in Cusco, Peru, in 1562.

In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Juana de Aroca, a Spanish poet and writer who lived in the early 17th century. Her work, which explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality, earned her acclaim during her lifetime and continues to be studied by scholars of Spanish literature.

While the name AROCA has its roots in Spain, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange. In the 19th century, for instance, a family bearing this surname settled in Argentina, where they became prominent landowners and cattle ranchers in the province of Buenos Aires.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aroca

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

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 Aroca was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 7.18% 13
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 92.27% 167

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 Aroca has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 7.18% 9.43% -27.09%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic 92.27% 90.57% 1.86%

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 Aroca was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Aroca last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/aroca-surname-popularity/.

"Aroca last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/aroca-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Aroca last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/aroca-surname-popularity/.

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