Show ContentsArce History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Spanish surname Arce is of toponymic origin, deriving from a place where the initial bearer once resided or held land. In this instance, the root of the surname Arce is the Spanish "arce," meaning "maple tree," and thus, the name was originally used in feudal times to denote a dweller near a maple tree.

Early Origins of the Arce family

The surname Arce was first found in the valley of Mena in the province of Burgos. Although there is evidence that the Arce family was in other northern Regions of Spain in the early Middle Ages, records show that their ancestral seat was in Villarcayo.

Early History of the Arce family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Arce research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1533, 1544, 1635 and 1704 are included under the topic Early Arce History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Arce Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Arce, Arceos, Arceo, Arco and others.

Early Notables of the Arce family

Prominent among bearers of the Arce family name at this time was

  • Lope Garcia de Arce, a knight of the court of Navarra
  • Diego de Arce y Lopez, born in Madrid, who entered the noble order of Santiago in 1533

Arce Ranking

In the United States, the name Arce is the 2,570th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1


United States Arce migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Arce Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Antonio De Arce, who landed in Peru in 1834 2
  • Lope De Arce, who arrived in Peru in 1834 2
  • Rodrigo De Arce, who arrived in Venezuela in 1834 2
  • Ramon Arce, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 2
  • Carmelo De Arce, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Arce (post 1700) +

  • Gaspar Núñez de Arce (1834-1903), Spanish writer and statesman
  • Nicolás Bianchi Arce (b. 1987), Argentine football defender
  • Raúl Díaz Arce (b. 1970), retired Salvadoran football player
  • Fernando Enrique Arce Ruiz (b. 1980), Mexican international football midfielder
  • Ismael Valadéz Arce (b. 1985), Mexican football striker
  • Jorge Armando Arce (b. 1979), Mexican professional boxer
  • Aniceto Arce (1824-1906), Bolivian politician from Tarija who became president of the republic in 1888
  • Francisco Arce (b. 1971), Paraguayan footballer
  • Manuel José Arce (1787-1847), Salvadoran politician
  • Luis Arce Gómez (1938-2020), Bolivian military officer, Minister of Interior (1980–1981)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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