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

Gatica, 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 Gatica surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gatica in America

Gatica is the 11704th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gatica surname appeared 2,678 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 Gatica.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gatica 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 Gatica

The surname GATICA is of Spanish origin, originating from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Basque word "gatika," which means "place of wolves" or "wolf den." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a wolf den or in an area with a significant wolf population.

One of the earliest known references to the surname GATICA can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias de Castilla, a 14th-century census document from the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname GATICA residing in various villages and towns within the Basque region.

In the 15th century, records show a nobleman named Juan de GATICA who served as a royal adviser to King Juan II of Aragon. He played a crucial role in mediating disputes between the king and his nobles during a period of political unrest.

During the 16th century, the surname GATICA appeared in several Spanish colonial records from the Americas. One notable individual was Diego de GATICA, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He was born in Vitoria, Spain, in 1495 and died in Mexico City in 1562.

In the 17th century, a prominent figure with the surname GATICA was Padre Andrés de GATICA, a Jesuit priest and missionary who worked extensively in the Americas. He was born in Bilbao, Spain, in 1615 and died in Lima, Peru, in 1688. Padre GATICA is known for his efforts in evangelizing indigenous communities and establishing educational institutions in various South American regions.

Another notable individual with the surname GATICA was José María GATICA, a Chilean military leader and politician born in Santiago, Chile, in 1790. He played a crucial role in the Chilean War of Independence against Spain and later served as the Minister of War and Navy under President Francisco Antonio Pinto in the 1830s.

Throughout history, the surname GATICA has been associated with various place names and variations in spelling, such as Gatika (a town in Basque Country, Spain), Gatica (a municipality in Colombia), and Gaticá (a village in Argentina). These place names likely derived from the original Basque word "gatika" and were influenced by the presence of individuals with the surname GATICA in those regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gatica

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

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

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

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