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Garcia History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Garcia History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Portugal
Spain

Tuscany, one of the oldest and most beautiful island regions of Italy, is the esteemed birthplace of numerous prominent families, including the family that bears the surname Garcia. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era; the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Tuscany is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's givenname, names derived from occupations are also found. Occupational surnames, which are less common that other types of surnames in Italy, date back to the feudal era. However, under the Feudal System, occupational names did not become hereditary until the offices themselves became hereditary. It was only after an occupation was inherited by several generations in lineal descent, that occupational names came to be applied to entire families, and so became a hereditary surname. The surname Garcia is a name for a person who used a wire-toothed brush, to prepare and untangle hemp fibers. This surname is derived from the word garzolo, which means carded hemp, from the vulgar Latin verb cardjare. The surname may also be of nickname origin, derived from the Italian word garza which means heron, and was given to a tall, slender individual.

Early Origins of the Garcia family

The surname Garcia was first found in Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, capital of the province of Lucca where Bascilican type churches abound and where the main branch of the family originates. Records can be found with the Garzoni family, who moved from Lucca to Bologna in 1228.

Early History of the Garcia family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garcia research. The years 1419, 1506, 1638, 1668, 1706 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Garcia History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garcia Spelling Variations

There are many variations of most of those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. Some of these come from regional differences, like the tradition of ending northern names in "o" and southern names in "i". Others come from inaccuracies in the recording process, which were extremely common in the eras before dictionaries standardized spelling. Some of the spelling variations of Garcia are Garzia, Garzya, Garsia, Garcia, Garcea, Garzaria, Garzadori, Garzetta and many more.

Early Notables of the Garcia family

Prominent among members of the family was Giovanni Garzoni (1419-1506) an Italian humanist and physician from Bologna, where he was professor of medicine and teacher of rhetoric; Pietro Garsia, a knight from Valenza who moved to Sicily and acquired the feudal territories of Colobra and Savochetta. With these lands came the titles of Baron and Marquis. Gerardo Garzia was Governor of Monte di Pieta in Palermo in 1668. Luigi Garzi (1638-1721), was...
Another 72 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 18^th most popular surname with an estimated 631,698 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Garcia is ranked the 500^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,793 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Garcia is the 810^th popular surname. 3 France ranks Garcia as 15^th with 68,720 people. 4 South America ranks Garcia as 4^th with 411 people. 5

Garcia migration to the United States +

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Garcia:

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. 9

Garcia 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