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

Gandra, 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 Gandra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gandra in America

Gandra is the 118853rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gandra surname appeared 146 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 Gandra.

The history of the last name Gandra

The surname "GANDRA" is believed to have originated from the Gandra region of northern Portugal, near the city of Porto. It likely dates back to the 12th or 13th century, during the era of the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

The name may be derived from the Portuguese word "gandra," meaning "shrike" or a type of small bird. It's possible that the name was initially a nickname or a reference to someone who lived near an area frequented by shrikes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, which mentions a landowner named Fernão Gandra. This document suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

In the 16th century, there are records of a prominent Portuguese military commander named João Gandra, who fought in the Portuguese conquest of Goa, India, in the early 1500s. His exploits and service to the crown likely contributed to the name's recognition and spread.

Another notable figure with the surname was Pedro Gandra, a 17th-century Portuguese architect and sculptor. He was responsible for designing and constructing several churches and monasteries in the north of Portugal, including the Igreja de Santa Clara in Porto, completed in 1677.

During the 18th century, there are records of a wealthy merchant family named Gandra based in the city of Braga. This family owned extensive vineyards and played a significant role in the region's wine trade.

In the 19th century, José Gandra, a celebrated poet and writer from the city of Guimarães, gained recognition for his lyrical works celebrating the beauty of the Minho region and its cultural traditions. He was born in 1810 and died in 1888.

While the surname Gandra is predominantly found in Portugal, it has also spread to other parts of the world, particularly due to Portuguese emigration and colonization efforts in the past centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gandra

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

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 Gandra 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.

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gandra, 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!