Explore the Family Name Roca
The meaning of Roca
1. Catalan, Galician, Spanish, and French: topographic name from Catalan, Galician, Spanish, and Occitan roca ‘rock’, or a habitational name from any of numerous places called with this word. Compare De la Roca. 2. Italian (southern): possibly a variant of Rocca, but more likely of Catalan or Spanish origin (see 1 above). 3. Croatian: unexplained. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Jorge, Luis, Carlos, Gustavo, Rafael, Alejandro, Alfonso, Francisco, Ruben, Sergio. Italian Antonio, Vito, Carmine, Leonardo, Nicola, Amadeo, Carlo, Enio, Fiorella, Lorenzo, Marco, Matteo.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Roca in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Roca has shown an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 10,294th but by 2010, it had climbed to 8,611th, showing a positive shift of 16.35 percent. The count of individuals bearing this surname also rose from 2,868 in 2000 to 3,819 in 2010, marking a significant growth of 33.16 percent. Consequently, the proportion of people with the Roca surname per 100,000 increased by 21.7 percent, from 1.06 to 1.29.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,294 | #8,611 | 16.35% |
| Count | 2,868 | 3,819 | 33.16% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.06 | 1.29 | 21.7% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Roca
As for ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some notable changes among those with the Roca surname. The percentage of Rocas identifying as Hispanic saw a rise from 69.42 percent in 2000 to 75.46 percent in 2010 - an increase of 8.70 percent. Meanwhile, the Asian/Pacific Islander group experienced a modest growth of 8.99 percent. However, the percentage of Rocas identifying as White fell from 24.41 percent to 19.64 percent, a decrease of 19.54 percent. Interestingly, the 2010 census recorded a new category, Black, accounting for 0.76 percent of the Rocas, while there were no data for the category 'Two or more races' in 2010. Data for American Indian and Alaskan Native remained suppressed or unchanged at zero percent.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 69.42% | 75.46% | 8.7% |
| White | 24.41% | 19.64% | -19.54% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.56% | 3.88% | 8.99% |
| Black | 0% | 0.76% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 1.32% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Roca 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 Roca is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 44.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (16.5%) and Italian (10.5%). Additional ancestries include British & Irish, French & German, Ashkenazi Jewish, Filipino & Austronesian, and Eastern European.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Spanish & Portuguese | 44.1% |
| Indigenous American | 16.5% |
| Italian | 10.5% |
| Other | 28.8% |
Possible origins of the surname Roca
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 Roca have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in Spain, and Cuba.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Andalusia, Spain | 35.60% |
| Galicia, Spain | 32.20% |
| Castile And Leon, Spain | 30.00% |
| Canary Islands, Spain | 28.90% |
| Catalonia, Spain | 27.80% |
What Roca 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 Roca is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Roca surname are: A2, H, B2. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to some of the first Americans
Though the Ice Age was beginning to retreat when your A2 ancestors first entered North America, there were still massive barriers blocking their way. Glaciers and inhospitable climate covered much of the continent, blocking entry into the interior. Nonetheless, researchers have found evidence that a wave of American founders migrated over 13,000 kilometers to reach southern Chile in only 2,000 years, a blink of an eye in the story of human migration! Their highway to the south was the coast of the Pacific, stocked with fish, diverse marine mammals, and other valuable resources in the rich kelp forests of the upper latitudes and in the abundant fresh-water rivers near the equator. Because of this rapid movement south, the A2 haplogroup and its diverse branches are found throughout North and South America.
What do people with the surname Roca 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
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Roca" Surname 42.9%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Roca" Surname 42.9%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Kinesthetic Learner
Preferring to learn and process information through hands-on activities, practical experiences, and active engagement.
"Roca" Surname 50.0%
23andMe Users 61.5%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Roca" Surname 11.9%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Roca?
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 Roca are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition