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

Furnas, 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 Furnas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Furnas in America

Furnas is the 35057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Furnas surname appeared 643 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 Furnas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Furnas 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 Furnas

The surname "FURNAS" is believed to have originated in Portugal, likely in the 15th or 16th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "forno," which means "oven" or "furnace," and is thought to be an occupational name for someone who worked in a bakery or with ovens or furnaces.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 1527 registry of baptisms in the parish of São Martinho de Ávidos, in the municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão, in northern Portugal. The entry refers to a man named João Furnas.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name was also found in various regions of Portugal, including the municipalities of Braga, Guimarães, and Porto. Some variations in spelling included "Fornos" and "Fornaz."

Historically, the name was sometimes associated with specific locations or place names that contained the word "forno" or "furna," such as Furnas, a civil parish on the island of São Miguel in the Azores archipelago, known for its volcanic activity and hot springs.

One notable figure with the surname Furnas was João Rodrigues de Furnas, a 16th-century Portuguese nobleman and landowner who held properties in the Alentejo region.

Another prominent individual was Sebastião Furnas, a 17th-century merchant and shipowner from Porto, who was involved in the lucrative trade between Portugal and its colonies in Brazil and Africa.

In the 19th century, José Furnas was a renowned architect and urban planner from Lisbon, responsible for the design of several notable buildings and public spaces in the Portuguese capital.

Emigration from Portugal to other parts of the world, particularly Brazil and the United States, led to the spread of the surname Furnas in those regions. One notable bearer of the name was Roberto Furnas, a Brazilian engineer and businessman born in 1891, who played a key role in the development of hydroelectric power projects in Brazil.

Additionally, Joaquim Furnas, born in 1892 in Portugal, was a respected educator and writer who emigrated to the United States and became a professor of Portuguese and Spanish literature at various universities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Furnas

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

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

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

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