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

Galicia, 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 Galicia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Galicia in America

Galicia is the 3837th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Galicia surname appeared 9,229 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Galicia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Galicia 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 Galicia

The surname Galicia has its origins in the northwestern region of Spain known as Galicia. It is believed to have first emerged in the 9th century during the early years of the Reconquista, the period of Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

The name Galicia is derived from the ancient Roman province of Gallaecia, which encompassed parts of modern-day northern Portugal and the Galicia region of Spain. The name is thought to come from the Latin word "gallus," meaning "Gaul" or "Celt," referring to the Celtic tribes that inhabited the area during Roman times.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Galicia can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that documents the history and miracles associated with the Way of St. James, or the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. The manuscript mentions several individuals with the surname Galicia who lived in the region during that time.

In the 13th century, the Galician poet and trobador Martín Codax is one of the earliest known figures to bear the surname Galicia. His poems, known as the "Cantigas de Amigo," are among the earliest examples of Galician-Portuguese lyric poetry.

Another notable figure with the surname Galicia was Pedro de Galicia, a 14th-century Spanish architect who is credited with designing the Gothic-style Seville Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

During the 15th century, the explorer and navigator Juan de Galicia accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He was born in the Galicia region around 1460 and is believed to have been one of the first Europeans to set foot in the Caribbean.

In the 16th century, the Galician poet and playwright Gómez García de Galicia was a prominent figure in the Spanish Golden Age of literature. His works included satirical plays and poetry that often criticized the social and political conditions of the time.

Throughout history, the surname Galicia has been associated with various place names and spellings, such as Galiza, Gallicia, and Gallego, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic influences in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Galicia

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

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

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

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