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

GarciaRivera, 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 GarciaRivera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of GarciaRivera in America

GarciaRivera is the 47706th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The GarciaRivera surname appeared 444 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 GarciaRivera.

We can also compare 2010 data for GarciaRivera 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 GarciaRivera

The surname GARCIARIVERA is a double-barrelled Spanish surname that originated in the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval period. The name is a combination of two distinct surnames, Garcia and Rivera, which were likely joined together through marriage or inheritance.

The first part, Garcia, is a patronymic surname derived from the Germanic personal name Garcias or Garceiz, which means "brave spearman" or "brave man." This name was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula during the Visigothic rule in the 5th to 8th centuries. It became a popular surname among the nobility and the Christian population during the Reconquista, the period of Muslim rule in parts of Spain and Portugal.

The second part, Rivera, is a topographic surname derived from the Spanish word "ribera," meaning "riverbank" or "shore." It likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a river or a coastal area. This surname is believed to have emerged in various regions of Spain, particularly in areas with significant water bodies or rivers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the GARCIARIVERA surname can be found in the "Libro de las Behetrias," a historical document from the 14th century that listed noble families and their landholdings in the regions of Castile and León. This suggests that the GARCIARIVERA name was associated with landed gentry or nobility during that time.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the GARCIARIVERA surname:

1. Diego Garcia de Paredes (1466-1534), a Spanish soldier and adventurer known for his military exploits in the Italian Wars and the conquest of Mexico.
2. Bernardino Garcia Rivera (1609-1668), a Spanish Baroque painter known for his religious works and portraits.
3. Juan Garcia Rivera (1786-1856), a Venezuelan military officer and politician who served as the President of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836.
4. José Garcia Rivera (1832-1892), a Puerto Rican writer, poet, and educator who played a significant role in the literary and cultural development of Puerto Rico.
5. Tomás Garcia Rivera (1835-1913), a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the Governor of Jalisco from 1887 to 1889.

The GARCIARIVERA surname has also been associated with various place names and locations in Spain, such as Rivera de Gata, a municipality in the province of Cáceres, and Garcia Rivero, a small village in the province of Zamora. These place names may have contributed to the formation or prevalence of the surname in certain regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name GarciaRivera

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

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

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

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