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

Vara, 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 Vara surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vara in America

Vara is the 9790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vara surname appeared 3,307 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 Vara.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vara 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 Vara

The surname Vara originated in Spain and has its roots in the medieval era. It is derived from the Spanish word "vara," which means "rod" or "staff." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with rods or staffs, perhaps a maker or seller of walking sticks or measuring rods.

In the 12th century, the name Vara was mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript that served as a guidebook for pilgrims traveling the Camino de Santiago. This early reference indicates that the name was already in use during that time period.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Vara was Pedro de Vara, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Juan de Vara, a 15th-century Spanish navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.

The Vara surname can also be linked to several place names in Spain, such as Vara de Rey in the province of Cuenca, and Vara del Rey in the province of Navarra. These place names likely derived from the same root word and may have influenced the surname's development.

In the 16th century, Francisco de Vara was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He was appointed as the first mayor of Veracruz, a city named after the Spanish word "Vera Cruz" (True Cross).

Another prominent individual with the Vara surname was Diego de Vara y Calderón, a 17th-century Spanish military engineer who designed fortifications in various Spanish colonies, including the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida.

As the surname spread across Spain and its colonies, it also took on variations such as Varas and Varela. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Spanish word "vara" and its association with rods or staffs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vara

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

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

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

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