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

Gonsalves, 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 Gonsalves surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gonsalves in America

Gonsalves is the 4173rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gonsalves surname appeared 8,494 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Gonsalves.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gonsalves 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 Gonsalves

The surname Gonsalves has its origins in Portugal, dating back to the 13th century. It is a patronymic name derived from the personal name Gonçalo, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Gundesalvus or Gundisalvus, meaning "battle protection."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Gonsalves can be found in medieval Portuguese documents and records. One notable example is Gonçalo Mendes Gonsalves, a 14th-century Portuguese nobleman and military leader who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors.

As the Portuguese expanded their influence through exploration and colonization, the surname Gonsalves spread to other parts of the world, particularly to their colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. In Brazil, for instance, the name Gonsalves is often found in its Portuguese-Brazilian spelling, Gonçalves.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gonsalves outside of Portugal is found in the records of the Portuguese colony of Goa, India. In the 16th century, a Catholic priest named Francisco Gonsalves was active in Goa and played a significant role in the Christianization efforts in the region.

Another notable figure bearing the surname Gonsalves was Antão Gonsalves, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer who is credited with being the first European to set foot in the territory of modern-day Brazil, in the year 1501.

In the 19th century, Joaquim Gonsalves, a Portuguese-Indian surgeon and botanist, made significant contributions to the study of medicinal plants in British India. He was born in Goa in 1784 and died in Bombay in 1865.

The name Gonsalves has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Portugal and its former colonies. For example, the town of Gonçalves in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is named after a prominent Portuguese family bearing the surname Gonçalves.

Throughout history, the surname Gonsalves has been recorded in various spellings, such as Goncalves, Gonsalvez, and Gonsalvez, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions where the name has been present.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gonsalves

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

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

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

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