2000
#9,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,190
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Barcia
A Galician and Spanish habitational surname derived from places named Barcia, likely referring to an area with clay soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,908 Americans carry the last name Barcia. That puts it at #11,805 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,866 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barcia surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,866
Census rank
#11,805
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,536 bearers of the surname Barcia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11805th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.1%. The next largest groups are White (24.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barcia
The surname Barcia originates from Spain, specifically the region of Galicia in the northwest corner of the country. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries.
The name Barcia is thought to be derived from the Galician-Portuguese word "barcia," which translates to "small valley" or "depression in the land." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in or near a small valley or low-lying area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Barcia can be found in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a person named Pedro Barcia living in the town of Pontevedra, Galicia. The name also appears in various municipal records and tax rolls from the 14th and 15th centuries in the same region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Barcia was Álvaro de Barcia, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Americas. He was born in Galicia around 1520 and is believed to have accompanied Hernando de Soto on his exploration of Florida and the southeastern United States.
Another prominent individual with the surname Barcia was Juan Barcia y Zambrana, a Spanish historian and writer who lived in the 18th century. He was born in Seville in 1689 and is best known for his work "Ensayo Cronológico para la Historia General de la Florida" (Chronological Essay for the General History of Florida), published in 1723.
In the 19th century, José Calixto Barcia was a Cuban-born Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Madrid from 1889 to 1891. He was born in Havana in 1830 and played a significant role in the political landscape of Spain during the latter part of the century.
Another notable figure with the surname Barcia was Manuel Barcia, a Spanish artist and painter who lived in the early 20th century. He was born in Galicia in 1876 and is known for his landscapes and scenes depicting rural life in the region.
While the name Barcia is most commonly associated with Spain and the Galician region, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and the spread of Spanish influence. However, its origins and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the northwestern part of Spain during the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barcia
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.1%. The next largest groups are White (24.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Barcia bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Barcia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.1% · 1,853
- White24.1% · 610
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 27
- Black or African American1.0% · 25
- Two or more races0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barcia
Barcia appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,555
+3,365 bearers (+105.5%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Up 4,054 places
2020
#11,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,536
-4,019 bearers (-61.3%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 6,489 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,370 | 3,190 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,316 | 6,555 | 2.22 | +3,365 bearers (+105.5%) | Up 4,054 places |
| 2020 | #11,805 | 2,536 | 0.85 | -4,019 bearers (-61.3%) | Down 6,489 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Barcia surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,316 | #11,805 | -122.1% |
| Count | 6,555 | 2,536 | -61.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 0.85 | -61.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barcia bearers went from 6,555 to 2,536 (-61.3% change). The surname moved down 6,489 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,316 to #11,805.
FAQ
Barcia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barcia?
Name Census estimates that about 2,908 living Americans carry the surname Barcia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,866 residents.
How common is Barcia?
Barcia ranks #11,805 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,536 people with the surname Barcia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,908), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Barcia.
Has Barcia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barcia went from 6,555 recorded bearers to 2,536. That is a decrease of 4,019 (-61.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,316 to #11,805.
What does the Census say about the background of Barcia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.1%. The next largest groups are White (24.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barcia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (1,853 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barcia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (73.1%), White (24.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Barcia (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Barcia mean?
A Galician and Spanish habitational surname derived from places named Barcia, likely referring to an area with clay soil. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Barcia (0.85 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Barcia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.