2000
#3,423
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,569
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.55
Uncommon Last name
Armendariz
A Basque surname derived from the place name Armendarits, meaning "oak grove" or "place abundant in oaks."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,640 Americans carry the last name Armendariz. That puts it at #2,961 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,129 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Armendariz surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,129
Census rank
#2,961
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,895 bearers of the surname Armendariz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2961st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Armendariz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Black (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Armendariz
The surname Armendariz originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is derived from the Basque words "armen" meaning "valley" and "aran" meaning "ravine". The name likely referred to a person who lived in a valley or near a ravine.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Armendariz appears in the 14th century census records of the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country of Spain. Variations of the spelling included Armendarez and Armendariz.
In the late 15th century, a noble Basque family named Armendariz was documented in the records of the Kingdom of Navarre. This family held lands and titles in the region for several generations.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas, many Basque settlers with the surname Armendariz established themselves in the colonies. Notable individuals include Juan de Armendariz, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.
The name Armendariz can also be found in historical documents from the Basque region of France, particularly in the provinces of Labourd and Lower Navarre. One example is Pedro de Armendariz, a merchant and ship owner from the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, who lived in the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, Joaquín Armendariz was a prominent Mexican politician and military leader who played a role in the Reform War and the French Intervention in Mexico. He was born in 1793 and died in 1865.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Pedro Armendáriz, a Mexican actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in 1912 and died in 1963.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Armendariz
Among Census respondents with the surname Armendariz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Black (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Armendariz bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Armendariz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.3% · 11,096
- White5.6% · 667
- Black or African American0.3% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 39
- Two or more races0.3% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Armendariz
Armendariz appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,892
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,423
+2,854 bearers (+29.8%)
Per 100,000 4.21
Rank movement Up 531 places
2020
#2,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,895
-528 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,423 | 9,569 | 3.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,892 | 12,423 | 4.21 | +2,854 bearers (+29.8%) | Up 531 places |
| 2020 | #2,961 | 11,895 | 3.98 | -528 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 69 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Armendariz surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,892 | #2,961 | -2.4% |
| Count | 12,423 | 11,895 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.21 | 3.98 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Armendariz bearers went from 12,423 to 11,895 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,892 to #2,961.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Armendariz
FAQ
Armendariz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Armendariz?
Name Census estimates that about 13,640 living Americans carry the surname Armendariz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,129 residents.
How common is Armendariz?
Armendariz ranks #2,961 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,895 people with the surname Armendariz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,640), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Armendariz.
Has Armendariz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Armendariz went from 12,423 recorded bearers to 11,895. That is a decrease of 528 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,892 to #2,961.
What does the Census say about the background of Armendariz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Armendariz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Black (0.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Armendariz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (11,096 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Armendariz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.3%), White (5.6%), Black (0.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Armendariz (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Armendariz mean?
A Basque surname derived from the place name Armendarits, meaning "oak grove" or "place abundant in oaks." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Armendariz (3.98 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Armendariz?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Armendariz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.