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

Rocha, 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 Rocha surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rocha in America

Rocha is the 613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rocha surname appeared 55,251 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 19 people would have the surname Rocha.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rocha 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 Rocha

The surname Rocha is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the Portuguese word "rocha," which means "rock" or "crag." This surname is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century, likely as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a prominent rock formation or in a rocky area.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Rocha can be found in various medieval documents and records from Portugal. One notable example is Pedro da Rocha, a Portuguese explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his famous voyage to India in 1497-1499.

Another historical figure bearing the surname Rocha was Diogo da Rocha, a Portuguese soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Brazil in the early 16th century. He was one of the first Europeans to explore and map the coastline of what is now the state of Rio de Janeiro.

In the 18th century, Joaquim da Rocha was a prominent Brazilian architect and engineer known for his work on churches, fortifications, and public buildings in Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil.

The name Rocha has also been associated with several notable writers and artists throughout history. For instance, Augusto da Rocha (1810-1884) was a Brazilian poet and playwright, while Andrés de la Rocha (1562-1628) was a Spanish painter known for his religious works.

Another important figure with the surname Rocha was Marcelo da Rocha (1886-1937), a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in the late 1920s and played a significant role in the country's political affairs during that time.

Over the centuries, the surname Rocha has spread beyond Portugal and Brazil to other parts of the world, carried by immigrants and descendants of Portuguese and Brazilian families. While the name remains most prevalent in these regions, it can also be found in various Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in other parts of Europe and the Americas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rocha

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

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

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

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