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

Owca, 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 Owca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Owca in America

Owca is the 118853rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Owca surname appeared 146 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Owca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Owca 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 Owca

The surname OWCA is of Polish origin, with roots dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which was part of the Kingdom of Poland at the time. The name is thought to be derived from the Old Polish word "owca," meaning "sheep," suggesting a connection to the occupation of shepherding or wool trading.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name OWCA can be found in the Tarnów Land Records from 1390, where a certain Jan Owca is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Skrzyszów. This document provides valuable insight into the geographical distribution of the name during the medieval period.

In the 16th century, the OWCA surname appeared in various historical records, including the Akta Grodzkie i Ziemskie, a collection of municipal and land court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These documents mention individuals such as Michał Owca (born around 1520) and Jakub Owca (born circa 1540), both from the town of Kraków.

During the 17th century, the OWCA name was particularly prominent in the region of Podlasie, as evidenced by the birth records of Andrzej Owca (1612-1678) and Katarzyna Owca (1628-1692), who resided in the town of Biała Podlaska.

One notable figure with the OWCA surname was Józef Owca (1766-1838), a Polish writer and poet from the Enlightenment era. His works, including the collection "Poezje" (Poems), shed light on the literary and cultural traditions of the time.

Another individual of note was Franciszek Owca (1821-1892), a Polish businessman and philanthropist from Kraków. He was renowned for his contributions to the local community and for establishing the Owca Foundation, which supported educational initiatives for underprivileged children.

In the 20th century, the OWCA surname gained recognition through the work of Stanisław Owca (1912-1987), a Polish historian and author who specialized in the study of the Silesian region. His book "Historia Śląska" (History of Silesia) remains a seminal work on the subject.

It is worth mentioning that the OWCA surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Poland, such as the village of Owcza Góra (literally "Sheep Mountain") in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, and the town of Owczary (from the word "owczarz," meaning "shepherd") in the Łódź Voivodeship.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Owca

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!