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

Barboza, 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 Barboza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barboza in America

Barboza is the 4172nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barboza surname appeared 8,497 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Barboza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barboza 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 Barboza

The surname Barboza is of Portuguese origin, derived from the medieval personal name Barbo, which itself is a nickname meaning "the bearded one" from the Latin word "barba" meaning beard. The name is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Portugal in the 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Barboza can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens, a Portuguese genealogical manuscript from the 13th century, where it mentions a nobleman named Fernão Barboza who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors.

In the 15th century, during the Age of Discovery, the name Barboza spread throughout the Portuguese Empire, with many explorers and colonists bearing this surname. Notably, João Barboza Machado (c. 1480-1554) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1497-1499.

The surname Barboza has also been associated with several notable figures in Portuguese and Brazilian history. Pedro Barboza (1523-1601) was a renowned Portuguese architect who designed several churches and monasteries in Lisbon and Coimbra. In Brazil, Rui Barboza (1849-1923) was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Finance and later as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the early 20th century.

Another notable figure is the Brazilian writer João Barboza (1917-1967), known for his novels and short stories that explored the struggles of the working class and the poor in Brazil. His works, such as "Mato Grosso" and "Os Sinos da Agonia," are considered important contributions to Brazilian literature.

In the United States, the surname Barboza has been associated with several influential individuals, including the late American actor Frank Barboza (1932-2008), known for his roles in films such as "The Godfather Part II" and "Escape from Alcatraz." Additionally, the artist João Barboza (1935-2008), born in Portugal and later emigrating to the United States, gained recognition for his abstract paintings and sculptures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barboza

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

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

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

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