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

Folgar, 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 Folgar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Folgar in America

Folgar is the 59470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Folgar surname appeared 340 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 Folgar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Folgar 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 Folgar

The surname Folgar originates from the Galician region of northwestern Spain. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century, derived from the Galician word "folgar," meaning "to rest" or "to take a break."

In the early medieval period, Galicia was a prominent center of cultural and linguistic development, with its own distinct language and customs. The name Folgar likely referred to someone who lived in a place where people could take respite or find leisure, perhaps near a resting spot along a pilgrimage route or a peaceful rural hamlet.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Folgar can be found in the "Tumbo de Sobrado," a 12th-century cartulary from the Monastery of Santa María de Sobrado in Galicia. This document mentions a landowner named Pedro Folgar, who granted certain properties to the monastery in the year 1184.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Folgar began to spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and into other parts of Europe. Records from this period include mentions of individuals such as Juan Folgar, a merchant from Seville who traded with Italian cities in the late 13th century, and Rodrigo Folgar, a soldier who fought in the Reconquista campaigns against the Moors in the early 14th century.

One notable figure bearing the surname Folgar was Fernán Folgar, a Galician poet and troubadour who lived in the latter half of the 13th century. His works, preserved in the "Cancioneiro da Ajuda" and other medieval songbooks, provide insight into the courtly love poetry of the time.

As the name Folgar spread beyond Spain, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Folgar, Folguer, and Folgaire, reflecting the linguistic influences of different regions. For instance, in France, the name appeared as Folgaire or Foulguaire, while in Italy, it took forms like Folghieri or Folghiero.

Among the notable individuals with the surname Folgar in later centuries was Miguel Folgar y Hernández (1635-1701), a Spanish priest and theologian who served as the Bishop of Guadix and later the Bishop of Jaén in the late 17th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Folgar

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

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

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

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