Explore the Family Name Aguiar

The meaning of Aguiar

Galician and Portuguese: habitational name from a common placename derived from Latin aquilare ‘haunt of eagles’. Compare De Aguiar and Spanish Aguilar. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Manuel, Jose, Carlos, Luis, Francisco, Miguel, Alvaro, Juan, Pedro, Ramon, Fernando, Mario. Portuguese Joao, Paulo, Serafim, Goncalo, Henrique, Manoel, Marcio.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Aguiar in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Aguiar has seen a significant increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Aguiar ranked 4616 among all surnames, but by 2010 it had risen to rank 4227, an improvement of 8.43 percent. The number of individuals carrying the Aguiar surname also expanded during this period, with a count of 7027 in 2000 swelling to 8390 in 2010, which is a substantial growth of 19.4 percent. The proportion of people named Aguiar per 100,000 population increased from 2.6 to 2.84, marking an upsurge of 9.23 percent.

20002010Change
Rank#4,616#4,2278.43%
Count7,0278,39019.4%
Proportion per 100k2.62.849.23%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Aguiar

When exploring the ethnic identity associated with the surname Aguiar as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, we see some fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Aguiar identified as Hispanic ascended from 43.26 percent to 48.09 percent, presenting a positive change of 11.17 percent. The share of those identifying as White decreased slightly from 50.65 percent to 47.62 percent. The Black community bearing the surname Aguiar witnessed a rise from 0.50 percent to 0.62 percent. However, those of Asian/Pacific Islander descent saw a slight dip from 1.59 percent to 1.51 percent. Similarly, the percentage of the surname holders identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased from 0.17 percent to 0.12 percent. The group acknowledging two or more races saw the most dramatic shift, plummeting from 3.83 percent to 2.04 percent.

20002010Change
Hispanic43.26%48.09%11.17%
White50.65%47.62%-5.98%
Two or More Races3.83%2.04%-46.74%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.59%1.51%-5.03%
Black0.5%0.62%24%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.17%0.12%-29.41%

Aguiar ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Aguiar is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 55.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (12.5%) and Indigenous American (7.8%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Italian, Eastern European, Filipino & Austronesian, and Southern Indian & Sri Lankan.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese55.8%
British & Irish12.5%
Indigenous American7.8%
Other23.9%
Aguiar

Possible origins of the surname Aguiar

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Aguiar have recent ancestry locations in Portugal and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Lisbon, Portugal48.70%
Azores, Portugal48.70%
Madeira, Portugal48.70%
Aveiro District, Portugal46.70%
Coimbra District, Portugal45.20%

What Aguiar haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Aguiar is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-P312 and I-Z58, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Mendes, Dias, Costa, Blanco, Oliveira, Rodrigues, Fries, Ernst, Ferreira, Duarte.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Aguiar surname are: A2, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

aguiarPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Aguiar have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Aguiar

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Aguiar" Surname 30.0%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Aguiar

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Aguiar" Surname 26.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Aguiar

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Aguiar" Surname 15.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Aguiar

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Aguiar" Surname 17.8%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Aguiar?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Aguiar are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Spanish & Portuguese 56.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%