The Vaca surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,982 people carried this name — #4,444 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,900 people counted. That is up 37% from 5,831 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Vaca surname
From vaca (“cow”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Vaca» (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 15,403 people named Vaca 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 Córdoba.
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
91 people named Vaca live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 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 print
Vaca in American newspapers,
1904.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
In print
Vaca in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1950s.
104 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Vaca. The most, 32, 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 Vaca.
Who carried it
People named Vaca,
with a public archive behind them.
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Cristóbal Vaca de Castro 1492–1566 · judge -
Evelio Vaca Pérez d. 2003 · farmer
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Francisco Vaca 1801–1898 · politician
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Santiago Vaca Guzmán 1847–1896 · writer
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Domingo Vaca 1869–1923 · translator
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Jan Vaca 1871–1931
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 Vaca,
in the records of 3 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 States146 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 96
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 25
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 6
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Michele VacaArrived at New York in 1906 aboard the Germania from Naples, aged 27; laborer. From Frosolone, Isernia, Italy.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Frank G. VacaBorn 1916 in Ohio. Enlisted 1943 at Cleveland; mechanic from Cuyahoga County.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Jimmy S. VacaU.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Born 1934, died 2000; buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Showing 3 of 146 records for Vaca 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).
France3 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Helene Carmen VacaBorn 1910 in Chatou (Yvelines); died 2001 in Gordes (Vaucluse).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Rafael VacaBorn 1938 in Spain; died 2001 in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 3 records for Vaca 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).
Australia1 record
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Jose VacaArrived in Victoria in 1905 aboard the Ormuz, aged 30.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Vaca.
- Utter 4,331 · U.S. census
- Utterback 3,125 · U.S. census
- Utz 3,044 · U.S. census
- Uzel 122 · U.S. census
- Uzun 325 · U.S. census
- Vaas 144 · U.S. census
- Vacca 2,586 · U.S. census
- Vaccari 319 · U.S. census
- Vaccaro 6,766 · U.S. census
- Vachal 148 · U.S. census
- Vache 148 · U.S. census
- Vacher 181 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Vaca 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.