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

Colaco, 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 Colaco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Colaco in America

Colaco is the 75799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Colaco surname appeared 254 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 Colaco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Colaco 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 Colaco

The surname COLACO is of Portuguese origin and can be traced back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the region of Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the western coast of India. The name is a derivative of the Portuguese word "colaço," which means "relative" or "kinsman."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname COLACO can be found in various historical documents from the Portuguese colonial era in India. One notable example is the mention of a certain Gaspar Colaco in the "Livro das Monções," a historical account of the Portuguese maritime explorations during the 16th century.

During the 17th century, the COLACO surname gained prominence in Goa, where several members of the family held influential positions within the Portuguese colonial administration. One such notable figure was Inácio Colaco, a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Goa in the late 1600s.

As the Portuguese influence in Goa waned in the 18th century, many families bearing the COLACO surname migrated to other parts of the world, particularly to regions where the Portuguese had established colonies or trading outposts. This led to the spread of the surname across various regions, including parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and even South America.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the COLACO surname outside of India can be found in the Cape Verde Islands, where a certain João Colaco is mentioned in historical records from the late 17th century. Another notable figure was José Colaco, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in the discovery and mapping of various islands in the South Pacific during the early 19th century.

In more recent times, the COLACO surname has been associated with several notable individuals from various fields. One such example is Francisco Colaco, a renowned Goan writer and poet who was born in 1921 and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Konkani literature.

Other notable individuals with the COLACO surname include Luís Colaco, a celebrated Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in 1939, and Joaquim Colaco, a prominent Indian businessman and philanthropist who founded the Joaquim Colaco Foundation in the late 20th century.

Overall, the surname COLACO has a rich and diverse history, spanning multiple continents and cultures, with its roots firmly planted in the Portuguese colonial era of the 16th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Colaco

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

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

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

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