Gaspar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Early Origins of the Gaspar family

The surname Gaspar was first found in Warwickshire where Walter Gaispor was listed in the Pipe Rolls in 1203. A few years later, ffulco Gayspore was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for London in 1319 and over one hundred years later, Walter Gaispore was listed in the Assize Rolls for London in 1442. The name literally means "one who wore showy spurs" from the Old French "gai," and the Old English word "spura." 1

Early History of the Gaspar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaspar research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1510, 1600, 1620, 1641, 1642 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Gaspar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaspar Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Gaspar, Gaspard, Gaspere, Gaspell, Gaspare and others.

Early Notables of the Gaspar family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Jan Baptist Gaspers (Jaspers) (1620?-1691), English portrait-painter, a native of Antwerp, and in 1641-1642 was admitted a member of the guild of St...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaspar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaspar Ranking

In the United States, the name Gaspar is the 5,994^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Gaspar is ranked the 2,990^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 3

Gaspar migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Gaspar name or one of its variants:

Gaspar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bernard Gaspar, who arrived in Iowa in 1888 4

Gaspar migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gaspar Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Leslie Gaspar U.E., "Lesly, Jasper" who settled in Canada c. 1784 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Gaspar (post 1700) +

Kenneth E. "Boom" Gaspar (b. 1953), American musician. best known for his work with Pearl Jam as a piano/keyboard/organ player since 2002
Cecília Gáspár (1984-2024), Hungarian footballer
Bruno Miguel Boialvo Gaspar (b. 1993), Portuguese professional footballer
Eduardo César Daude Gaspar (b. 1978), commonly known as Edu or Edu Gaspar, a retired Brazilian footballer, current General coordinator at the Brazil National Football Team
Dalmo Gaspar (1932-2015), Brazilian footballer who played for Santos
Ângelo Gaspar Martins (1930-2020), simply known as Ângelo, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a defender for Benfica and the Portugal national team
Alicia Gaspar de Alba (b. 1958), American scholar, cultural critic, novelist, and poet
Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1883-1974), Brazilian marshal, politician, and president of Brazil from 1946-1951
Gaspar Enrique Páez (b. 1986), Argentine footballer
Gaspar de Portolá i Rovira (1716-1786), Spanish soldier and administrator, explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey; governor of Las Californias and first Governor of Alta California (1768-1770)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X