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

Vasco, 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 Vasco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vasco in America

Vasco is the 31482nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vasco surname appeared 735 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 Vasco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vasco 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 Vasco

The surname Vasco has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the regions of Spain and Portugal. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "Vascus" or "Vasco," which referred to the Vascones, an ancient Iberian tribe that inhabited the area now known as the Basque Country.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Vasco can be traced back to the 9th and 10th centuries in medieval documents and charters from the Kingdom of Navarre and the County of Aragon. It is possible that the name may have been mentioned in even earlier records, such as the Codex Vigilanus, a collection of fueros (regional laws) from the 10th century.

One of the most notable historical figures bearing the surname Vasco was Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who is credited with being the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean. Balboa led expeditions in modern-day Panama and established the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas.

Another prominent individual was Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524), a Portuguese explorer who is renowned for being the first European to reach India by sea. His voyage, which began in 1497, opened up a new maritime trade route between Europe and Asia, greatly influencing the Age of Discovery.

In the 16th century, the name Vasco appeared in various records and documents related to the Spanish conquest of the Americas. One such figure was Vasco de Quiroga (c. 1470-1565), a Spanish bishop and legal scholar who advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples in New Spain (present-day Mexico).

The surname Vasco has also been associated with several place names in Spain and Portugal. For instance, the town of Vasco da Gama in Portugal was named after the famous explorer, while the city of Vasco in the Basque Country of Spain likely derives its name from the ancient Vascones tribe.

Other notable individuals with the surname Vasco include Vasco Fernandes de Lucena (c. 1480-1540), a Portuguese chronicler and diplomat, and Vasco Fernandes Coutinho (c. 1490-1561), a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator who played a significant role in the Portuguese colonization of Brazil.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vasco

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

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

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

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