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

Furtado, 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 Furtado surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Furtado in America

Furtado is the 6250th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Furtado surname appeared 5,464 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Furtado.

We can also compare 2010 data for Furtado 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 Furtado

The surname Furtado originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "furtare," meaning "to steal," and the Portuguese suffix "-ado," which indicates a profession or quality. The name likely referred to someone who was a thief or whose ancestor was a thief.

Furtado is an ancient surname that can be traced back to the 13th century in Portugal. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in a legal document from the town of Guimarães, dated 1258, which mentions a person named Pedro Furtado.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various historical records, including the "Livro das Linhagens" (Book of Lineages), a compilation of Portuguese noble families. This suggests that the Furtado surname was already well-established among the Portuguese nobility at that time.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese explorers and settlers with the surname Furtado played a significant role in the colonization of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. One notable figure was João Furtado de Mendonça (c. 1480-1537), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who commanded several expeditions to Brazil and the Indian Ocean.

In the 17th century, the Furtado name gained prominence in Brazil, where several members of the family held important political and military positions. One example is Francisco Barreto Furtado (1616-1691), a Portuguese colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of Brazil from 1671 to 1675.

Another famous bearer of the Furtado surname was Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado (1701-1769), a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who served as the Secretary of State for the Navy and Overseas Territories under King José I. He played a crucial role in the reform and reorganization of the Portuguese colonial administration.

Throughout history, the Furtado surname has been associated with various place names and localities in Portugal, such as Furtado (a parish in the municipality of Chaves), Furtadouro (a village in the municipality of Mirandela), and Furtadinha (a village in the municipality of Ourique).

Other notable individuals with the surname Furtado include João Pinto Furtado (1760-1830), a Portuguese military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of Portuguese India, and Luís Furtado de Castro do Rio de Mendonça (1664-1733), a Portuguese nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Furtado

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!