Explore the Family Name Vaca
The meaning of Vaca
1. Spanish and Portuguese: from the vocabulary word vaca ‘cow’ (from Latin vacca), probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a cowherd or as a nickname for someone supposedly resembling a cow in some way. 2. Czech: from a pet form of the personal name Václav (see Vaclav). Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Carlos, Juan, Francisco, Javier, Miguel, Salvador, Jesus, Luis, Manuel, Ramiro, Alberto.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Vaca in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Vaca has been growing in popularity within the United States over the course of a decade. In 2000, Vaca was ranked 5,485th in terms of its prevalence among all surnames, but by 2010 it had jumped to 4,444th—a rise of approximately 19%. The number of individuals with this surname also increased from about 5,831 in 2000 to nearly 7,982 in 2010, marking a significant growth of almost 37%. The proportion of people named Vaca per 100,000 U.S. residents also rose by about 25% during this period, going from 2.16 to 2.71.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | #5,485 | #4,444 | 18.98% |
Count | 5,831 | 7,982 | 36.89% |
Proportion per 100k | 2.16 | 2.71 | 25.46% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Vaca
When it comes to the ethnic identity associated with the surname Vaca, there was a notable shift between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of those identifying as Hispanic saw a small increase, going from 91.15% to 92.95%. However, there were declines in every other category. The White demographic decreased by about 16% while the Asian/Pacific Islander group saw a drop of nearly 38%. Similarly, those identifying as Black or as American Indian and Alaskan Native also decreased by about 44% and 33% respectively. The segment claiming two or more races experienced the greatest decline, reducing by half from 0.26% to 0.13%.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Hispanic | 91.15% | 92.95% | 1.97% |
White | 7.41% | 6.2% | -16.33% |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.82% | 0.51% | -37.8% |
Black | 0.27% | 0.15% | -44.44% |
Two or More Races | 0.26% | 0.13% | -50% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.09% | 0.06% | -33.33% |
Vaca 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 Vaca is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 41.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (36.6%) and British & Irish (7.1%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Eastern European, Italian, Senegambian & Guinean, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
---|---|
Spanish & Portuguese | 41.6% |
Indigenous American | 36.6% |
British & Irish | 7.1% |
Other | 14.7% |
![Vaca](/_next/static/media/mx.39a5b6bd.webp)
Possible origins of the surname Vaca
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 Vaca have recent ancestry locations all within Mexico.
RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
---|---|
Coahuila, Mexico | 71.20% |
Sonora, Mexico | 71.20% |
Aguascalientes, Mexico | 71.20% |
Durango, Mexico | 71.20% |
Guanajuato, Mexico | 71.20% |
What Vaca 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 Vaca is Q-M3, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup Q-M3 is descended from haplogroup Q-M242. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and E-L677, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Carmona, Solano, Rueda, Ontiveros, Arteaga, Saavedra, Ponce, Parra, De La Rosa, Estrada.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Vaca surname are: A2, B2, C1c. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
![vaca](/_next/static/media/Map_paternal_Q_blue.56f4cc38.webp)
![Paternal Haplo Image](/_next/static/media/kennewick.665d7cb8.webp)
Your paternal lineage may be linked to The Ancient One
When two college students stumbled upon a human skull on the banks of the Columbia River, neither the students nor the police who responded to their 911 call could have imagined the archaeological significance of this rare discovery. The skull — along with about 300 other bone fragments found near Kennewick, Washington — belonged to a 9,000 year-old nomad who Native Americans have dubbed "The Ancient One." Based on skeletal clues, The Ancient One (also known as "Kennewick Man") likely swam, wielded a spear, and hunted coastal fauna for the greater part of his lifeInitial craniometric studies suggested he descended from ancient Japanese and Polynesian-like people and had little in common with living Native Americans. This claim — refuted by the Plateau tribes of the Pacific Northwest — became the center of a decades-long legal battle over the provenance of the remains. When The Ancient One's genome was finally sequenced in 2015, the evidence revealed he was genetically most similar to modern-day Native Americans. In fact, local tribes were found to be direct descendants of a population closely related to The Ancient One; in 2017, he finally received a proper Native American burial. This critical discovery helps illustrate a genetic continuity between ancient and modern-day Native Americans. Furthermore, his paternal line belonged to haplogroup Q-M3, the predominant lineage among Native Americans today.
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.
![Maternal Haplo Image](/_next/static/media/oregon_coast.f33cdf31.webp)
What do people with the surname Vaca 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
Traits
Habits
Wellness
Are health conditions linked to the last name Vaca?
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 Vaca are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition