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

Barbosa, 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 Barbosa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barbosa in America

Barbosa is the 1992nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barbosa surname appeared 18,106 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Barbosa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barbosa 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 Barbosa

The surname Barbosa has its origins in Portugal, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is a toponymic surname, meaning it is derived from a place name. In this case, Barbosa is likely a reference to the town of Barbosa, located in the northern Portuguese district of Braga.

The name Barbosa is believed to have evolved from the Latin word "barbosus," which means "bearded." This suggests that the town of Barbosa may have been named after an early resident or landowner who had a prominent beard. Alternatively, the name could be a reference to the vegetation or landscape of the area, perhaps indicating a place with abundant shrubbery or thick undergrowth.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Barbosa can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical record dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Barbosa, indicating that the name was already well-established in Portugal by this time.

Throughout history, there have been numerous notable individuals bearing the surname Barbosa. One of the most famous was Ângelo de Barbosa (1592-1649), a Portuguese Jesuit priest and missionary who traveled to India and played a significant role in the early Christian missionary efforts in the region.

Another prominent figure was Duarte Barbosa (c. 1480-1521), a Portuguese writer and explorer who authored one of the earliest accounts of the Portuguese exploration of the East Indies. His work, "Livro em que dá relação do que viu e ouviu no Oriente" (Book in which the relation of what he saw and heard in the Orient is given), provided valuable insights into the cultures and civilizations of Asia during the early 16th century.

In the realm of literature, João Barbosa Rodrigues (1842-1909) was a notable Brazilian botanist and writer who made significant contributions to the study of Brazilian flora. His works, including "Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium" (Collection of Brazilian Palms), are considered seminal texts in the field of botany.

The surname Barbosa has also been associated with notable figures in the arts. One example is João Barbosa Machado (1737-1809), a Portuguese painter and engraver who is renowned for his religious paintings and portraits.

Finally, in the field of sports, Rui Barbosa (1949-2003) was a prominent Portuguese footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, including Benfica and Sporting CP, and represented the Portuguese national team in the 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cups.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barbosa

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Barbosa, 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!