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

Gardea, 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 Gardea surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gardea in America

Gardea is the 8688th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gardea surname appeared 3,781 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gardea.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gardea 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 Gardea

The surname GARDEA is of Spanish origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era in the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have evolved from the Spanish word "guarda," which means "guard" or "watchman," suggesting that the name may have been associated with individuals employed as guards or sentries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the GARDEA surname can be found in the historical archives of the Kingdom of Aragon, a medieval kingdom that encompassed parts of modern-day Spain and France. In the 13th century, a document mentions a certain "Pedro de Gardea" as a resident of the city of Zaragoza.

The GARDEA name also appears in several ancient manuscripts and chronicles from the region of Navarre, a former kingdom that now forms a part of northern Spain and southern France. One notable example is the "Crónica de los Reyes de Navarra," a chronicle of the kings of Navarre, which references a "Juan de Gardea" who served as a soldier in the royal army during the 15th century.

As the GARDEA surname spread across Spain, it underwent various spelling variations, including Gardea, Gardega, and Gardiga. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation.

Among the notable individuals bearing the GARDEA surname throughout history are:

1. Juan de Gardea (c. 1430 - 1492), a Spanish soldier and military commander who fought in the Reconquista, the prolonged campaign to expel the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.

2. Martín de Gardea (c. 1520 - 1590), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the colonization of the Americas and the exploration of the Pacific Northwest region.

3. Isabel de Gardea (c. 1580 - 1650), a Spanish noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works and support of religious institutions in Seville.

4. Francisco de Gardea (1635 - 1712), a Spanish architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings and infrastructure projects in Madrid and Andalusia.

5. Andrés de Gardea (1770 - 1848), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1820 to 1823.

The GARDEA surname has also been associated with various place names across Spain, such as Gardea de Abajo and Gardea de Arriba, which were small villages or hamlets located in the Basque Country region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gardea

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

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

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

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