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

Gandia, 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 Gandia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gandia in America

Gandia is the 34272nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gandia surname appeared 662 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 Gandia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gandia 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 Gandia

The surname Gandia is believed to have originated in Spain, specifically in the Valencia region. It likely derives from the city of Gandia, which sits along the Mediterranean coast in eastern Spain. The name Gandia itself has Arabic roots, coming from the Arabic word "jannat," meaning "paradise" or "garden." This suggests that the name may have been given to the city during the period of Moorish rule in the region, which lasted from the 8th to the 13th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gandia appears in a document from the late 13th century, where a man named Bernat de Gandia is mentioned. This suggests that the surname had already been established by that time, likely adopted by families or individuals who hailed from or had some connection to the city of Gandia.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Francisco Borja Gandia y Arias (1510-1572) was born into a prominent family in Gandia. He later became a Jesuit priest and was canonized as St. Francis Borgia by the Catholic Church in 1670. This early association with a saint likely contributed to the spread and prestige of the surname Gandia.

Another noteworthy individual with the surname Gandia was José Gandia y Olmos (1841-1917), a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice in the late 19th century during the reign of Alfonso XIII.

In the 20th century, Jesús Gandia Trilles (1898-1993) was a Spanish architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the development of Valencia and its surrounding areas.

More recently, Miguel Gandia (1933-2018) was a prominent Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter, known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s, including the film "La Residencia" (1969).

While the surname Gandia has Spanish origins, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, the earliest and most well-documented instances of the name can be traced back to the Valencia region of Spain, where it likely originated from the city of Gandia and its Arabic roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gandia

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

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

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

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