Baca

See also: baca, bacá, bacă, bacą, baća, bača, baça, and bàca

English

Etymology 1

Possibly from ancestral grant of Spanish nobility, Cabeza de vaca (indicated with the skull of a cow on the coat of arms).

Proper noun

Baca (plural Bacas)

1. A surname.

Derived terms

• Baca County

See also

• De Baca

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Baca is the 1249^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 28082 individuals. Baca is most common among Hispanic/Latino (80.46%) and White (16.08%) individuals.

Etymology 2

From Hebrew עֵמֶק הַבָּכָצ (valley of balsam).

Proper noun

Baca (uncountable)

1. Valley in ancient Palestine, named for balsam trees, the drought-tolerant vegetation growing the in that parched region.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 84:5–6:

     Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
     Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

   • 1657, Anne Bradstreet, "As spring the winter doth succeed":

     O hast thou made my Pilgrimage

     Thus pleasant, fair, and good;

     Bless'd me in Youth and elder Age,

     My Baca made a springing flood?

References

On significance of the name, see Alexander Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (Cambridge University Press, 1903), Comment to Psalm 84:6.

Anagrams

• A.C.A.B., AABC, AACB, ABAC, ABCA, ACAB, BCAA, Caba, abac, caba