Garica last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Garica

Basque habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "the maple tree."

Garica, 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 Garica surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Garica in America

Garica is the 13752nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Garica surname appeared 2,200 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 Garica.

We can also compare 2010 data for Garica 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 13752 14259 -3.62%
Count 2,200 1,929 13.13%
Proportion per 100k 0.75 0.72 4.08%

The history of the last name Garica

The surname Garica originates from Spain and its roots can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "garzo" meaning "heron" or "egret". The name was likely initially given as a nickname or descriptive term for someone with a physical resemblance to these birds or someone who lived near a place where herons were commonly found.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Archivo Historico Nacional de España, where a certain Pedro Garica was mentioned in a document from Seville dated 1248. Another early reference is the 1284 Libro del Repartimiento, a record of land grants in the region of Andalusia, which lists several individuals with the surname Garica among the recipients.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in the records of the Inquisition, with Juan Garica de Soria being a prominent figure who was convicted of heresy and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1492. During the same period, a nobleman named Rodrigo Garica de Montalvo served as a diplomat and ambassador for King Ferdinand II of Aragon.

The name has also been associated with various places throughout Spain, such as the town of Garica in the province of Alicante, which likely derived its name from the surname rather than the other way around. Other place names that may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname include Garcíaz and Garcés.

Notable individuals with the surname Garica include:

  1. Pedro Garica de Herrera (c. 1533-1596), a Spanish historian and translator who wrote extensively about the conquest of the Americas.
  2. Andrés Garica de Céspedes (1560-1611), a Spanish painter and writer known for his works on art theory and religious themes.
  3. José Garica de la Torre (1766-1838), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1835 to 1836.
  4. Concepción Garica y Lecuona (1835-1927), a Cuban pianist, composer, and teacher who was one of the first significant female composers in the Americas.
  5. Federico Garica Lorca (1898-1936), a renowned Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director who was a central figure in the Generation of '27 literary movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Garica

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

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 Garica was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 14.41% 317
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.14% 25
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.59% 13
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.82% 18
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.36% 8
Hispanic Origin 82.68% 1,819

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 Garica has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 14.41% 7.62% 61.64%
Black 1.14% 1.04% 9.17%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.59% 1.45% -84.31%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.82% 1.30% -45.28%
Two or More Races 0.36% 0.57% -45.16%
Hispanic 82.68% 88.02% -6.26%

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

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

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"Garica last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/garica-surname-popularity/.

"Garica last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/garica-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 October, 2024

Garica last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/garica-surname-popularity/.

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