The Rocha surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 55,251 people carried this name — #613 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,340 people counted. That is up 31% from 42,139 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rocha surname
Borrowed from Portuguese Rocha, from rocha, from Medieval Latin rocca, from Celtic and Germanic, from Indo-European.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rocha» (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 26,083 people named Rocha 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
1,498 people named Rocha live in Switzerland.
They live in 22 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 256 people named Rocha.
Most of them — 162 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 37 départements, most often Yvelines.
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 Poland’s population register
93 people named Rocha have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 124 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 20 people named Rocha 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 Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
63 people named Rocha 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
Rocha in American newspapers,
1867–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 13,596 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rocha,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Sóstenes Rocha 1831–1897 · military personnel -
Dardo Rocha 1838–1921 · lawyer -
António dos Santos Rocha 1853–1910 · archaeologist -
Lindolfo Rocha 1862–1911 · writer -
Fryco Rocha 1863–1942 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 215 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rocha.
- Rocca 1,748 · U.S. census
- Rocchi 433 · U.S. census
- Rocci 271 · U.S. census
- Roccia 260 · U.S. census
- Rocco 6,583 · U.S. census
- Roch 822 · U.S. census
- Rochat 365 · U.S. census
- Roche 18,940 · U.S. census
- Rochefort 888 · U.S. census
- Rochel 454 · U.S. census
- Rochelle 3,553 · U.S. census
- Rocher 316 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rocha 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.