The Garcia surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,166,120 people carried this name — #6 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 253 people counted. That is up 36% from 858,289 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Garcia surname
The origin is uncertain. Perhaps of Basque origin; compare Basque hartz (“bear”) or gazte (“young”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entries «Garcia» (English) and «García» (Spanish), 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 347,687 people named Garcia 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 21,720 people named Garcia.
9,252 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 101 départements, most often Hauts-de-Seine.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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
7,246 people named Garcia live in Switzerland.
They live in 25 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 468 people named Garcia live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
76 people named Garcia have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 410 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 14 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 the Nordic population registers
1,050 people named Garcia are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Garcia in American newspapers,
1821–1939.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 312,473 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Garcia,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Francesc Vicent Garcia 1579–1623 · writer -
José Elias Garcia 1830–1891 · engineer -
Josep Garcia Robles 1835–1910 · composer -
Emídio Garcia 1838–1904 · teacher -
Jaume Garcia Fossas 1850–1927 · businessperson
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 230 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Garcia.
- Garbe 1,168 · U.S. census
- Garbin 365 · U.S. census
- Garby 171 · U.S. census
- Garceau 1,630 · U.S. census
- Garcelon 240 · U.S. census
- Garces 6,420 · U.S. census
- Garcie 307 · U.S. census
- Garcin 137 · U.S. census
- Garcon 653 · U.S. census
- Gard 4,729 · U.S. census
- Garda 249 · U.S. census
- Garde 754 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Garcia 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.