Garcia
A major Spanish surname, originally a personal name used before it became one of the most common family names in the Hispanic world.
The #6 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 265 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Garcia began as a medieval personal name in Iberia and was later inherited as a surname. The exact deeper origin is debated: older writers often linked it to Basque or to a pre-Roman Iberian name, but no single explanation has won universal agreement. As a surname, it is patronymic in effect, meaning it comes from an ancestor's given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
Historical citations from medieval Spain show Garcia used as a given name among nobles and other record holders, which helped it spread widely as a hereditary surname. It remained especially common in Spain and later expanded across the Spanish-speaking world through migration and colonial-era settlement. Today it is one of the most widespread surnames in the United States, largely because of Hispanic surname patterns and immigration from Latin America and Spain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Garcia is among the most common surnames in the United States, ranking 6th in the 2010 census.
From the historical record
“jambes tournées en dehors. • Garceau, Garcelon, Garcia, Garcin, Garçon. Dér. de Gars ; jouuo homiue. Les étymologi-stes es- pagnols considèrent garda comme un synonyme du gars français.”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)