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

Sefa, 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 Sefa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sefa in America

Sefa is the 111426th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sefa surname appeared 158 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 Sefa.

The history of the last name Sefa

The surname SEFA is of Spanish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France during the medieval period. The name is thought to be derived from the Basque word "sefe," which means "thin" or "slender."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SEFA surname can be found in a document from the 14th century, which mentions a person named Juan de SEFA living in the town of Guernica, located in the Basque province of Biscay. This document suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.

In the 15th century, the SEFA surname appears in various records from the Basque Country, including land deeds and municipal records. For instance, in 1472, a man named Pedro de SEFA was recorded as owning a plot of land in the village of Bermeo, near Bilbao.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the SEFA surname began to spread beyond the Basque region as people migrated to other parts of Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable figure from this period was Diego de SEFA, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Caribbean and Central America in the early 16th century.

In the 18th century, the SEFA surname can be found in records from various Spanish cities, including Madrid and Seville. One prominent individual with this name was Juan Manuel SEFA (1721-1798), a Spanish military officer who served in the Spanish Army during the American Revolutionary War.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the SEFA surname also spread to the Americas. In the early 19th century, a man named Carlos SEFA (1785-1852) was a prominent landowner and politician in the province of Córdoba, Argentina.

Throughout the centuries, the SEFA surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Sefa, Sepha, and Seafa, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the regions where it was found. Additionally, the name has been associated with several notable figures in different fields, including literature, arts, and politics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sefa

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

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 Sefa 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.

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

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

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