duca

Duca is a term with multiple uses across languages and cultures. In Italian, duca is the noble title equivalent to duke, historically used for high-ranking aristocrats in the Italian states. The word traces to the Latin dux, ducis, meaning leader or commander. The feminine form in Italian is duchessa.

As a surname, Duca occurs in Italian- and Romanian-speaking areas and among people of Italian or Romanian descent. Notable individuals with the surname include Ion G. Duca (1879–1933), a Romanian statesman who served as prime minister in 1933 and was assassinated later that year. The name is encountered in biographical and historical contexts related to individuals bearing it.

Beyond nobility and surnames, Duca may appear as part of family names or in discussions of heritage within communities connected to Italian or Romanian lineage. The term itself is primarily recognized for its linguistic and historical associations with rank and lineage, rather than as a modern institutional or organizational designation.