Garcia History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Spain were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Garcia is thought to be a patronymic name formed from a now unknown medieval given name. An older Latin form of the surname was Garsea, but the roots of this name may well pre-date the Latin era and come from the Basque language.
Early Origins of the Garcia family
The surname Garcia was first found in Navarre, where the name is documented in the earliest records.
Early History of the Garcia family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garcia research. Another 179 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1134, 1150, 1775, 1800, 1805, 1808, 1825, 1827, 1829 and 1840 are included under the topic Early Garcia History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Garcia Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Garcia, García, Garsea, Garsía, Garsia, Garcies, Guarsea, Guarseas, Garsías, Garsias, Gassía, Gassia, Garci, Garcés, Garces, Garcíaz, Garciaz, Garséaz, Garseaz, Gasset, Garcet, Gracía, Gracia and many more.
Early Notables of the Garcia family
Prominent among members of the family were Count García of Navarre (d. 857), García I, king of Leon from 910-914, and García I of Navarre, who ruled 925-970. King García IV ruled Navarre from 1134-1150. Also of note were Gil Garcíez Dazagra, knight of the order of Santiago, Diego García de Paredes and Alvar García de Mendoza, who fought for Ferdinand and Isabella during the conquest...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Garcia Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Garcia World Ranking
In the United States, the name Garcia is the 18th most popular surname with an estimated 631,698 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Garcia is ranked the 500th most popular surname with an estimated 9,793 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Garcia is the 810th popular surname. 3 France ranks Garcia as 15th with 68,720 people. 4 South America ranks Garcia as 4th with 411 people. 5
Garcia migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Garcia Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
- Alejo García, who arrived in the New World in 1528 and explored Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil
- Lope García de Castro was governor of Peru in the 1560s
- Ana García, to Colombia in 1561
- Catalina García, who immigrated to Venezuela in 1561
- Alonso García, to Hispaniola in 1562
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Garcia Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Mr. Juan Garcia, French settler traveling aboard the ship "Le Beaumont" arriving in Louisiana on 19th August 1785 6
- Mrs. Francois Garcia (nee Courtin), French settler traveling aboard the ship "Le Beaumont" arriving in Louisiana on 19th August 1785 6
Garcia Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Heman Garcia, who landed in America in 1811 7
- Gonzalo Garcia, who arrived in America in 1811 7
- Alonso Garcia, who arrived in America in 1811 7
- Elvira Garcia, who landed in Espanola in 1811 7
- Francisco Garcia, who arrived in America in 1811 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Garcia Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Bruno Garcia, who arrived in Texas in 1910 7
Garcia migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Garcia Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. William Garcia, English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Garcia migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
9Garcia Settlers in West Indies in the 16th Century
- Anton García, to Cuba in 1561
Garcia Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
- Blas Garcia, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1835 7
- Haman Garcia, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1836 7
- Domingo Garcia, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1838 7
Contemporary Notables of the name Garcia (post 1700) +
- Mary Jane M. Garcia (1936-2024), American politician, Member of the New Mexico Senate (1988-2012)
- Joe A. Garcia (1952-2023), Native American leader from New Mexico, two-term President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
- David Garcia (1920-2018), American Major League Baseball coach, scout and manager
- Eladio Armesto Garcia (1936-2003), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1984, 1988, 1992; Member of Florida State House of Representatives 117th District, 1993-94 10
- Robert "Bob" Garcia (1933-2017), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1978-1983)
- Héctor Anibal Maestri Garcia (1935-2014), Major League Baseball pitcher
- Hector P. Garcia (1914-1996), Mexican American physician, surgeon, WWII veteran, civil rights advocate, founder of the American G.I Forum and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (1942-1995), American guitarist, singer, songwriter, counterculture icon, and co-founder of the Grateful Dead
- Staff Sergeant Marcario Garcia (1920-1972), first Mexican immigrant to receive the Medal of Honor
- Eric Garcia (b. 1972), Mexican American author
- ... (Another 47 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Historic Events for the Garcia family +
St. Francis Dam
- Mr. Louis Garcia, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
- Mrs. Angel Garcia, American resident in Santa Clarita missing after the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
- Miss Francisca Garcia, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
- Mr. Gerardo A. "Harry" Garcia, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
- Mrs. Elizabeth "Tootsie" Garcia, (nee Rivera), American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
- ... (Another 2 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Citations +
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
- "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- "List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
- 7 Ships Acadian Expedition of 1785. Retrieved 13th October from http://www.acadian-cajun.com/7ships.htm
- 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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html