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

Fogo, 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 Fogo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fogo in America

Fogo is the 57781st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fogo surname appeared 352 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 Fogo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fogo 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 Fogo

The surname FOGO originated in Portugal and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "fogo," meaning "fire" or "hearth." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked with fire, such as a blacksmith or a baker.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the FOGO surname can be found in the 1258 Portuguese cartulary of Aroucan Monastery, where a certain Martinho FOGO is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use by the mid-13th century.

The FOGO surname is also associated with the Portuguese town of Fogo, located in the district of Guarda. It is possible that the name originated from this place name, with people from the town adopting the surname FOGO.

In the 16th century, the FOGO name appeared in several Portuguese records, including the 1540 census of the city of Lamego, where a João FOGO was registered. Additionally, a Diogo FOGO was mentioned in the 1567 records of the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra.

Notable historical figures with the FOGO surname include:

1. Gaspar FOGO (c. 1490-1558), a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in the discovery of the Strait of Magellan.
2. Manuel FOGO (c. 1550-1622), a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who worked in Japan and was martyred for his faith.
3. Rodrigo FOGO (c. 1620-1678), a Portuguese poet and playwright known for his works in the Baroque style.
4. António FOGO (1708-1786), a Portuguese architect who designed several churches and palaces in Lisbon.
5. Maria FOGO (1825-1901), a Portuguese writer and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education.

The FOGO surname has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to the migration of Portuguese settlers and explorers. For example, there are records of people with the FOGO surname in Brazil, Cape Verde, and Goa, India, which were Portuguese colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fogo

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

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

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

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