The Branco surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,797 people carried this name — #11,293 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 105,300 people counted. That is up 6% from 2,636 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Branco surname
From Portuguese Branco, from branco (“white”), originally a nickname for a light-skinned man.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Branco» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
469 people named Branco live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 160 people named Branco.
Most of them — 95 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 31 départements, most often Somme.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 92 people named Branco 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Branco in American newspapers,
1886–1954.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,991 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Branco,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Afonso de Castelo Branco 1522–1615 · bishop -
Roque Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo Branco 1770–1844 · politician -
Hermano José Braamcamp de Almeida Castelo Branco 1775–1846 · politician -
Antonio Roberto de Oliveira Lopes Branco 1808–1889 · politician -
Anselmo José Braamcamp 1817–1885 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 119 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Branco.
- Bran 1,687 · U.S. census
- Brana 354 · U.S. census
- Branas 179 · U.S. census
- Branca 1,220 · U.S. census
- Brancato 2,012 · U.S. census
- Branche 818 · U.S. census
- Brand 19,135 · U.S. census
- Brandao 960 · U.S. census
- Brande 247 · U.S. census
- Brandel 1,573 · U.S. census
- Brandenburger 556 · U.S. census
- Brandi 733 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Branco 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.