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

Gaspar, 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 Gaspar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaspar in America

Gaspar is the 3210th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaspar surname appeared 11,251 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Gaspar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaspar 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 Gaspar

The surname Gaspar originates from Spain and Portugal, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is derived from the ancient Persian name "Gaspar" or "Caspar," one of the three wise men or Magi who visited the infant Jesus, according to biblical accounts. The name is believed to have been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula during the time of the Moors' influence in the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gaspar can be found in the Libro de repartimiento de Sevilla, a 13th-century document detailing the distribution of land and property in Seville after its reconquest by the Christians in 1248. This document mentions several individuals bearing the surname Gaspar, suggesting its establishment in the region during that period.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the records of the Castilian nobility, with notable figures such as Pedro Gaspar, a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso XI in the Battle of Salado in 1340 against the Marinid dynasty of Morocco.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, several explorers and navigators with the surname Gaspar played significant roles in the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish empires. Notable among them was Gaspar Corte-Real (c. 1450-1501), a Portuguese explorer who led expeditions to the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in search of the Northwest Passage.

Another prominent figure was Gaspar de Portolá (1723-1786), a Spanish military officer and explorer who founded the cities of San Diego and Monterey in present-day California while leading expeditions to establish Spanish settlements along the Pacific coast.

In the realm of arts and literature, the surname Gaspar has been associated with influential figures such as Gaspar Núñez de Arce (1834-1903), a Spanish poet and playwright who served as the director of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Other notable individuals bearing the surname Gaspar include Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (1587-1645), a prominent Spanish statesman and chief minister of King Philip IV, and Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811), a Spanish Enlightenment writer, philosopher, and statesman.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaspar

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

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

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

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