The Gandara surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,754 people carried this name — #7,044 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,100 people counted. That is up 31% from 3,636 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Gandara surname
From Galician Gándara, from gándara (“wetland”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gandara» (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 1,124 people named Gandara 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
39 people named Gandara live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 21 people named Gandara.
Most of them — 16 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
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 print
Gandara in American newspapers,
1852–1872.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,641 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Gandara,
with a public archive behind them.
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Joe Gandara 1924–1944 · military personnel -
Issifou Bouraïma d. 2009 · diplomat
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 3 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Gandara,
in the records of 2 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States223 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 157
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 36
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 28
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Gilbardo H. GandaraBorn 1918 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bliss El Paso; miner from Presidio County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Ernest GandaraArrived at New York in 1885 aboard the La Normandie from Havre, aged 20; professor. From Switzerland; bound for Nebraska.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Hector R. GandaraU.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1932, died 1989; buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Showing 3 of 223 records for Gandara in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).
France6 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Maria GandaraBorn 1910 in Algeria; died 1995 in Pessac (Gironde).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Francois Jean-Claude GandaraBorn 1954 in Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques); died 1996 in Colmar (Haut-Rhin).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Lucien Jean GandaraBorn 1934 in Algeria; died 2001 in Lille (Nord).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 6 records for Gandara in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Gandara.
- Gammon 6,415 · U.S. census
- Gamon 778 · U.S. census
- Gana 422 · U.S. census
- Gancarz 536 · U.S. census
- Gance 132 · U.S. census
- Ganci 727 · U.S. census
- Gandel 111 · U.S. census
- Gander 1,804 · U.S. census
- Gandhi 6,721 · U.S. census
- Gandia 662 · U.S. census
- Gandini 104 · U.S. census
- Gandolfi 427 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Gandara 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.