Barco last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Barco

A Spanish and Italian occupational surname referring to a boatman or a person who builds or operates boats.

Barco, 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 Barco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barco in America

Barco is the 12894th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barco surname appeared 2,385 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Barco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barco 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 12894 14983 -14.99%
Count 2,385 1,810 27.41%
Proportion per 100k 0.81 0.67 18.92%

The history of the last name Barco

The surname Barco is of Spanish origin, derived from the Spanish word "barco," meaning "boat" or "ship." The name likely originated in Spain during the medieval period, possibly referring to someone who worked on boats or lived near a harbor or port.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Barco can be found in the Catalonian region of Spain, where it appears in various historical documents from the 13th century onwards. The name was particularly prevalent in the coastal areas of Barcelona and Valencia.

In the 15th century, the name Barco was documented in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, suggesting that some individuals bearing this surname may have been targeted during this period of religious persecution.

As Spanish explorers and colonists ventured to the Americas and other parts of the world, the surname Barco was carried with them. Notable individuals with this surname include:

  1. Álvaro de Barco (c. 1545-1617), a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and the Philippines.
  2. Juan de Barco (c. 1560-1635), a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Yucatán in the early 17th century.
  3. Sebastián Barco (c. 1585-1658), a Spanish Jesuit missionary who established missions in present-day Colombia and worked with indigenous communities.
  4. María de Barco y Vidaure (1615-1682), a wealthy Spanish landowner and philanthropist who donated significant funds to various religious organizations.
  5. Pedro Barco de Centenera (c. 1570-1635), a Spanish soldier and poet who wrote about the colonization of Argentina in his epic poem "La Argentina."

The surname Barco has also been associated with various place names, such as Barco de Ávila, a municipality in the province of Ávila, Spain, and Barco de Valdeorras, a municipality in the province of Orense, Galicia, Spain.

While the surname Barco may have evolved into different spellings or variations over time, it remains rooted in its Spanish maritime origins, reflecting the histories and journeys of those who bore this name throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barco

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

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 Barco was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 28.97% 691
Non-Hispanic Black Only 8.18% 195
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.89% 45
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 60.29% 1,438

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 28.97% 39.45% -30.63%
Black 8.18% 8.62% -5.24%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.89% 0.94% 67.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 60.29% 50.17% 18.32%

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

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

"Barco last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/barco-surname-popularity/.

"Barco last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/barco-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.