Ortiz
A Latinized form of the Spanish surname Ortiz, meaning "son of Orto".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Ortiz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ortiz today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ortiz births was 1976 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ortiz. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ortiz. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1976
7 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1976 SSA rank
#4,785
Tracked since 1976
Census
Ortiz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 388 people with the first name Ortiz, which placed it at #24,718 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,718
National first-name rank
People counted
388
388 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ortiz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ortiz is Hispanic at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and White (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ortiz described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ortiz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.1% · 307
- Black or African American11.9% · 46
- White6.7% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Ortiz: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ortiz by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ortiz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ortiz
The name Ortiz has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is a patronymic surname that was later adopted as a given name. The name is derived from the Spanish word "huerto," which means "garden" or "orchard." The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to the 12th century.
The name Ortiz was initially used in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Spain and Portugal. It was commonly used among Spanish and Portuguese families as a surname, indicating a person's lineage or ancestral connection to someone who worked or owned a garden or orchard.
While the name Ortiz is not explicitly mentioned in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been a part of Spanish and Portuguese culture for centuries. Some notable individuals who bore the name Ortiz throughout history include:
1. Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1478-1557), a Spanish historian and writer who wrote extensively about the early Spanish colonization of the Americas.
2. Alonso Ortiz (1625-1708), a Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraits.
3. José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (1776-1827), a Mexican writer and journalist often referred to as the "Father of Mexican Journalism."
4. José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), a Spanish philosopher and essayist who was a prominent figure in the 20th century.
5. José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949), a renowned Mexican social realist painter and muralist.
These are just a few examples of individuals who carried the name Ortiz throughout history. While the name has its roots in Spanish and Portuguese cultures, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in Latin American countries with Spanish and Portuguese influences.
People
Ortiz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ortiz as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ortiz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ortiz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ortiz going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Ortiz a common name?
We classify Ortiz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ortiz most popular?
The single biggest year for Ortiz was 1976, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ortiz is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ortiz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 388 people with the name Ortiz, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,718 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ortiz in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ortiz?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ortiz on both sides of the split. Of the 396 people counted with this name, 280 were male (70.7%) and 116 were female (29.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ortiz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ortiz is Hispanic at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and White (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ortiz most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ortiz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (307 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ortiz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ortiz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ortiz in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ortiz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ortiz in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ortiz can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Ortiz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.