2000
#7,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.53
Rare Last name
Garnica
A Spanish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "oak grove" or "oak forest."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,528 Americans carry the last name Garnica. That puts it at #5,849 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,505 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garnica surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 52,505
Census rank
#5,849
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,693 bearers of the surname Garnica in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5849th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnica, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garnica
The surname Garnica has its origins in Spain, with records indicating its presence as early as the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "garnica," which means a kind of forest or woodland. The name may have initially referred to individuals who lived near or worked in such areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Garnica can be found in a medieval manuscript from the region of Castile, dated around 1150. This document mentions a landowner named Pedro de Garnica, who held property in the village of Garnica, located in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula.
During the 13th century, the surname Garnica appeared in several official records related to trade and land ownership in the cities of Burgos and Valladolid. It is likely that members of the Garnica family were involved in agricultural or forestry-related activities during this period.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Garnica was Juan de Garnica, a respected scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Salamanca. He was born in the town of Garnica around 1420 and contributed significantly to the intellectual discourse of his time.
Another prominent individual with the Garnica surname was Rodrigo de Garnica, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He accompanied Christopher Columbus on his third voyage to the New World in 1498 and later served as a pilot for other Spanish voyages to the Caribbean and Central America.
In the 17th century, the Garnica family had established a presence in various parts of Spain, including Andalusia and Catalonia. One notable member from this period was María de Garnica, a celebrated poet and writer who was born in Seville in 1620. Her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
As the centuries passed, the Garnica surname continued to spread across Spain and eventually to other parts of the world, including Latin America and the United States, as a result of Spanish colonization and migration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garnica
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnica, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Garnica bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Garnica surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.4% · 5,317
- White4.9% · 279
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
- Two or more races0.4% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 22
- Black or African American0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garnica
Garnica appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,820
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,941
+1,824 bearers (+44.3%)
Per 100,000 2.01
Rank movement Up 1,632 places
2020
#5,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,693
-248 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Down 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,452 | 4,117 | 1.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,820 | 5,941 | 2.01 | +1,824 bearers (+44.3%) | Up 1,632 places |
| 2020 | #5,849 | 5,693 | 1.90 | -248 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 29 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Garnica surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,820 | #5,849 | -0.5% |
| Count | 5,941 | 5,693 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.01 | 1.90 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garnica bearers went from 5,941 to 5,693 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,820 to #5,849.
FAQ
Garnica surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garnica?
Name Census estimates that about 6,528 living Americans carry the surname Garnica. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,505 residents.
How common is Garnica?
Garnica ranks #5,849 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,693 people with the surname Garnica. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,528), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Garnica.
Has Garnica become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garnica went from 5,941 recorded bearers to 5,693. That is a decrease of 248 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,820 to #5,849.
What does the Census say about the background of Garnica?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garnica, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Garnica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (5,317 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garnica appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.4%), White (4.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Garnica (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Garnica mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "oak grove" or "oak forest." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Garnica (1.90 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Garnica?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Garnica on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.