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

Gamarra, 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 Gamarra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gamarra in America

Gamarra is the 20263rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gamarra surname appeared 1,313 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 Gamarra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gamarra 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 Gamarra

The surname Gamarra originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Basque word "gamarra," which means "high ground" or "summit." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon someone who lived near a prominent hill or mountain.

The earliest known record of the Gamarra surname dates back to the 12th century, when a person named Lope de Gamarra was mentioned in a document from the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, located in the Basque province of Álava. During this period, the Basque regions were heavily influenced by the Kingdom of Navarre, and many Basque surnames emerged as a way to identify families and establish lineages.

Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, the Gamarra name appeared in various historical records from the Basque Country, including church registries and land ownership documents. One notable figure from this era was Juan Martínez de Gamarra (c. 1300-1367), a prominent Basque nobleman who served as a military commander under King Alfonso XI of Castile.

As the Basque people migrated and settled in different parts of Spain and Latin America during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Gamarra surname spread to other regions. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside the Basque Country was Alonso de Gamarra (c. 1480-1550), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure with the Gamarra surname was José Félix de Gamarra (1734-1808), a Spanish military officer and colonial governor who served in various territories of Spanish America, including Chile and Panama. His grandson, Agustín Gamarra (1785-1841), became a celebrated military leader and served as the first Constitutional President of Peru from 1829 to 1833.

Another notable individual with the Gamarra surname was Evaristo Gómez Sánchez Gamarra (1808-1874), a Spanish-born military officer who fought in the Carlist Wars and later became a general in the Mexican army during the Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian I.

While the Gamarra surname has its roots in the Basque region, it has since spread globally due to migration and historical events, with bearers of the name found in various countries, particularly in Spain, Latin America, and regions with significant Spanish influence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gamarra

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

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

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

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