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

Cardosa, 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 Cardosa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cardosa in America

Cardosa is the 25989th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cardosa surname appeared 944 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 Cardosa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cardosa 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 Cardosa

The surname Cardosa has its origins in Portugal, with records dating back to the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "cardo," meaning "thistle," and the Latin suffix "-osa," indicating abundance or plenty. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in an area abundant with thistles or worked with the plant in some capacity.

One of the earliest documented references to the Cardosa name can be found in Portuguese ecclesiastical records from the late 1400s, where it appears in various spellings, such as "Cardoza" and "Cardosa." These early records indicate that the name was prevalent in the northern regions of Portugal, particularly in the areas around Porto and Braga.

During the Age of Exploration, several individuals bearing the Cardosa surname played notable roles in Portuguese maritime endeavors. One such individual was João Cardosa, a navigator and cartographer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his historic voyage to India in 1497-1499. Cardosa's maps and charts were instrumental in the success of this voyage and helped establish Portugal as a major maritime power.

In the 16th century, the Cardosa name gained prominence with the rise of the Cardosa family, a noble Portuguese lineage with roots in the town of Amarante. This family produced several influential figures, including Diogo Cardosa (1531-1598), a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as a magistrate in the Portuguese empire.

As the Portuguese empire expanded, the Cardosa name spread to various parts of the world, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia. One notable figure was Bartolomeu Cardosa (1564-1625), a Jesuit missionary who spent several years in Japan, where he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Catholic Church in the region.

In the 19th century, the Cardosa surname gained further recognition with the birth of António Cardosa Borges (1832-1891), a celebrated Portuguese poet and writer who was a prominent figure in the Romantic literary movement. His works, which often celebrated the beauty of his homeland and explored themes of love and nature, earned him critical acclaim and a place in the canon of Portuguese literature.

Other noteworthy individuals with the Cardosa surname include Eduardo Cardosa (1887-1973), a renowned Brazilian architect known for his contributions to the Neocolonial architectural style, and Maria Cardosa (1905-1998), a Portuguese-American artist and sculptor whose works are featured in various museums and galleries across the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cardosa

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

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

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

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