The Baca surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 28,082 people carried this name — #1,249 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,500 people counted. That is up 14% from 24,572 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Baca surname
Possibly from ancestral grant of Spanish nobility, Cabeza de vaca (indicated with the skull of a cow on the coat of arms).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Baca» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 2,085 people named Baca live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
1,536 people named Baca have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,671 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 15 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 94 people named Baca.
19 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 27 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
26 people named Baca live in Switzerland.
They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
31 people named Baca is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Baca in American newspapers,
1875–1960.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 106,358 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Baca,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Elfego Baca 1865–1945 · lawyer -
Edward D. Baca 1938–2020 · military personnel -
Lee Baca 1942– · sheriff -
Susana Baca 1944– · composer -
Jim Baca 1945– · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 60 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Baca.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Baca is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.