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

Vargas, 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 Vargas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vargas in America

Vargas is the 148th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vargas surname appeared 173,835 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 59 people would have the surname Vargas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vargas 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 Vargas

The surname Vargas traces its origins to Spain and Portugal, with its earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Spanish word "varga," meaning a long, thin branch or rod, and is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near or worked with rods or branches.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Vargas can be found in the Cartulario de la Catedral de Zamora, a 12th-century manuscript from the city of Zamora, Spain. The document mentions a certain "Petrus Varga" in 1173, indicating the use of the name during that time.

In the 13th century, the surname Vargas appeared in several notable historical records, including the Fuero de Soria, a legal code from the city of Soria, Spain, and the Libro Becerro de las Behetrías, a medieval census of landowners in Castile. These records provide valuable insights into the early distribution and prominence of the Vargas surname.

One of the most notable individuals bearing the surname Vargas was Francisco de Vargas (1496-1564), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He is known for his role in the siege of Tenochtitlan and the establishment of Spanish rule in the region.

Another prominent figure was Luis de Vargas (1502-1568), a Spanish Renaissance painter known for his religious works and portraits. His paintings can be found in various churches and museums throughout Spain, including the Cathedral of Seville and the Prado Museum in Madrid.

In the 16th century, the surname Vargas also appeared in Portugal, where it was associated with the noble Vargas family from the region of Beira Alta. One notable member was Rodrigo de Sequeira Vargas (1512-1583), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to India and the East Indies.

During the 17th century, Juan de Vargas Machuca (1600-1667) was a Spanish military engineer and architect who worked on fortifications and defensive structures in various Spanish territories, including the Philippines and the Americas.

In more recent times, the surname Vargas has been carried by notable individuals such as Mario Vargas Llosa (born 1936), the Peruvian novelist and recipient of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature, and Getúlio Vargas (1882-1954), a Brazilian statesman who served as the 17th President of Brazil.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vargas

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

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

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

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