The Melgar surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,106 people carried this name — #3,897 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,400 people counted. That is up 72% from 5,303 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Melgar surname
From Spanish, usually a common Guatemalan surname.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Melgar» (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 3,180 people named Melgar 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
44 people named Melgar live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 40 people named Melgar.
19 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Vaucluse.
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 the Nordic population registers
27 people named Melgar 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
Melgar in American newspapers,
1909–1917.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 550 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Melgar in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1940s.
20 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Melgar. The most, 9, date from the 1930s.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Melgar.
Who carried it
People named Melgar,
with a public archive behind them.
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Andrés de Melgar 1500–1554 · painter -
Mariano Melgar 1790–1815 · writer -
José Fabio Melgar Valdivieso 1802–2000 · lawyer -
Bernardino de Melgar Abreu 1864–1942 · politician -
Fernando Melgar 1885–1974 · politician -
Alonso de Melgar 1480–1525 · printer
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Melgar,
in the records of 4 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 States26 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 4
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 2
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Fred R. MelgarBorn 1913 in California. Enlisted 1942 at San Francisco; office machine operator from San Joaquin County.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Peter MelgarArrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Cumberland from Liverpool, aged 25; farmer. From Germany.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Maximo MelgarU.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1895, died 1968; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Showing 3 of 26 records for Melgar in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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).
France7 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Jose MelgarBorn 1934 in Spain; died 1997 in Llupia (Pyrénées-Orientales).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Maria MelgarBorn 1911 in Spain; died 1993 in Cambo-les-Bains (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Carmen Marguerite MelgarBorn 1907 in Paris; died 1990 in Reims (Marne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 7 records for Melgar 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).
Canada1 record
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Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Raul MelgarDied 1998; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.
City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
Netherlands1 record
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Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Jacob MelgarDied 1860 in Delfshaven.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Melgar.
- Melchor 8,319 · U.S. census
- Mele 4,165 · U.S. census
- Melendez 56,230 · U.S. census
- Meler 247 · U.S. census
- Melero 1,627 · U.S. census
- Meley 107 · U.S. census
- Meli 1,910 · U.S. census
- Melia 2,509 · U.S. census
- Melikian 564 · U.S. census
- Melin 2,339 · U.S. census
- Meline 539 · U.S. census
- Melis 372 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Melgar 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.