2000
#28,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 806
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Very Rare Last name
Garsia
A Spanish habitational surname derived from the word "garza" meaning "heron".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 771 Americans carry the last name Garsia. That puts it at #35,918 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 444,558 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garsia 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
771
1 in 444,558
Census rank
#35,918
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
672
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 672 bearers of the surname Garsia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35918th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garsia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garsia
The surname Garsia has its origins in Spain, where it emerged during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Germanic personal name "Garcia," which itself is a combination of the elements "gar" (meaning "spear") and "ric" (meaning "power" or "ruler"). This name was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Visigoths, who ruled parts of Spain and Portugal from the 5th to the 8th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Garsia surname can be found in the 12th-century Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of documents from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. In this manuscript, the name appears as "Garcia" and "Garsias," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common during that time.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Garsia was particularly prevalent in the regions of Navarra, Aragón, and Castilla y León. It was often associated with noble and influential families, such as the House of García, which ruled the Kingdom of Navarra in the 9th and 10th centuries. Notable figures from this dynasty include García Íñiguez (c. 810-882), King of Navarra, and his son Fortún Garcés (c. 835-905), who succeeded him as King.
Another notable bearer of the Garsia surname was Rodrigo García de Arce y Valdés (c. 1455-1521), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who served under King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. He played a crucial role in the conquest of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, and was later appointed as the first Governor of the Canary Islands.
In the 16th century, the Garsia surname also gained prominence in the New World, as Spanish explorers and settlers brought it to the Americas. One notable figure from this era was Pedro de Garsía Navarrete (c. 1485-1538), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He was granted substantial landholdings in what is now the state of Veracruz, Mexico, and his descendants continued to use the Garsia surname in the region.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Garsia surname spread to other parts of the world, including the Philippines, where it was adopted by various Filipino families during the Spanish colonial period. One prominent example is José María García (1828-1892), a Filipino lawyer, writer, and politician who played a significant role in the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.
Throughout its history, the surname Garsia has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including nobility, military leaders, writers, and politicians. Its enduring presence across multiple continents and cultures reflects the far-reaching influence of the Spanish language and culture, as well as the complexity of human migration and cultural exchange.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garsia
Among Census respondents with the surname Garsia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Garsia 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 Garsia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 628
- White4.3% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garsia
Garsia 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
#21,599
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,208
+402 bearers (+49.9%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 6,406 places
2020
#35,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 672
-536 bearers (-44.4%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 14,319 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,005 | 806 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,599 | 1,208 | 0.41 | +402 bearers (+49.9%) | Up 6,406 places |
| 2020 | #35,918 | 672 | 0.22 | -536 bearers (-44.4%) | Down 14,319 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 Garsia 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 | #21,599 | #35,918 | -66.3% |
| Count | 1,208 | 672 | -44.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.22 | -45.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garsia bearers went from 1,208 to 672 (-44.4% change). The surname moved down 14,319 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,599 to #35,918.
FAQ
Garsia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garsia?
Name Census estimates that about 771 living Americans carry the surname Garsia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 444,558 residents.
How common is Garsia?
Garsia ranks #35,918 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 672 people with the surname Garsia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (771), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Garsia.
Has Garsia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garsia went from 1,208 recorded bearers to 672. That is a decrease of 536 (-44.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,599 to #35,918.
What does the Census say about the background of Garsia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garsia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Garsia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garsia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.5%), White (4.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Garsia (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 Garsia mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from the word "garza" meaning "heron". 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 Garsia (0.22 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 Garsia?
If you just want to know how common the surname Garsia is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.