In this section we'll look at the most popular Hispanic last names in the United States. These names are people who self-identified as "Hispanic" in the Decennial Census survey.

The most recent statistics we have for these Hispanic last names are from the 2010 census.

You can use the links below to view more common Hispanic last names. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 2000.

Most common Hispanic last names: 1-2000 | 2001-4000

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Table key

To help you understand the above table, below is a description of each column and what it represents.

1. This is the total number of occurrences for the name in the latest US Decennial Census survey.
2. This is the total number of people who self-identified as "Hispanic".
3. This is the percentage of people who self-identified as "Hispanic".
4. This is our unofficial rank of the last name for people who self-identified as "Hispanic".
5. This is the official U.S. rank of the last name according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries.

• White last names
• Black last names
• Hispanic last names
• Asian & Pacific Islander last names
• American Indian & Alaskan Native last names
• Two or more race last names

The history of Hispanic surnames

Ever wonder where your Hispanic surname came from?

Well, unlike the Chinese, who have had surnames for thousands of years, surnames didn't appear in Spanish culture until around the 12th century. It's important to remember that this only refers to the Spaniards in Spain, as during this time, Central and South America was still filled with indigenous people.

During the 12th century, the number of Spaniards had grown to include so many people that suddenly, the rulers of the time needed surnames to keep the families straight. Like most European surnames, the Spaniards derived their surnames from several different options available at the time.

Where do Hispanic surnames come from?

Hispanic surnames are generally from one of four origins. They are either patronymic/matronymic, occupational, geographic, or based on a description of the person.

Patronymic and matronymic

Patronymic surnames specifically refer to a surname which is a parent's first name. Spanish culture is unique in that they took names from both the mother and father when last names were invented.

While some Hispanic last names were the parent's name unchanged, others were given the suffixes 'ez' 'az' or 'is' to indicate that they were patronymic surnames. Therefore 'Alvarez' means 'son of Alvaro' just as 'Johnson' means 'Son of John' in English. Many popular Hispanic last names such as Fernandez and Velazquez are patronymic.

Occupational

Just as in British last names, Hispanic last names were frequently derived from the job the person worked at the time the surname was given. For example, the name 'Guerrero', which is the Spanish name for warrior or soldier, would be given to someone who was acting as a soldier when given their surname.

Geographical

Geographical surnames are derived from the individual's location when the surname was given. Medina and Ortega are both last names that are derived from towns in Spain. You also have names like 'Vega' which means 'meadow' which may have been given to someone who was living by a meadow at the time.

One of the most famous Hispanic last names, 'Mendoza' is made by combining the word for mountain and cold, given to someone who once lived on a cold mountain. Another famous last name, 'Iglesias,' was once given to someone who lived near a church.

Descriptive

The final category of Hispanic surnames is descriptive surnames. These were given based on a physical characteristic of the individual. 'Cortes,' the last name of the famous Spanish conqueror actually means 'courteous' (which he was anything but!) While a last name like 'Delgado' would have been given to someone thin. 'Moreno' is another common surname given to someone who had brown hair.

How have Hispanic surnames changed over time?

Now it's important to note that these categories only apply to Spanish last names. When the Spanish conquered Central and South America, it was filled with numerous indigenous peoples who had their own form of naming themselves.

The Aztecs for example didn't have any last names, and their names were not inherited. Because the Aztecs were conquered and taken over by the Spanish, there is no record of their people ever adopting last names. Rather anyone who survived the Spanish simply took on a Hispanic last name, likely when they were baptized into Catholicism which the Spanish forced on all their conquered peoples.

The Mayans however, had an even more complicated naming system than the Spaniards. Instead of giving everyone one name, each individual born was given 4 names. The first was their given name (also called a paal kaba), the second was the surname of the father, the third was a combined version of the mother and father's surname, and the fourth name was a nickname.

The given name was usually given to a Mayan child by a priest, who would base it off of the Child's horoscope. To make things more complicated, this name had a prefix to distinguish the gender of the child. H was used for males and X for females. The first name was also typically based on an animal. For example, 'X Cuat' is a Mayan given name which stands for '(female) serpent.'

Say a female 'X Cuat' Chel had a child with 'H Balam' Chen (male jaguar). Their child was given the name 'X Colel' (female goddess of bees), she would be X Colel Chel Chen plus an additional nickname like 'Izel' at the end. How's that for a mouthful?

You wouldn't want to get too attached to your name as a Mayan child however, once you got married it would be changed again, including your first name. Common nicknames in Mayan culture include 'Izel' (only one), 'Eloy' (warrior), and 'Aapo' (father of many nations).

When the Spanish began taking over Central and South America, this included the Mayans. And, as previously mentioned, they frequently forced the Mayans to take on Spanish names when they were baptized by the faith. This means if you have Aztec or Mayan ancestry it will be nearly impossible to trace past the point of the Spaniards (and even they didn't keep good records at first). However, it's possible you recognized one of the words we discussed as a last name still around today.

Although the Mayans didn't survive the Spaniards, there are bits and pieces of their last names sometimes mixed into current Hispanic last names. The most famous one is 'Fabio' which many people are unaware isn't even Hispanic. Rather this Mayan name means 'bean farmer' and was likely mistaken by the Spaniards as an occupational last name (likely because it was a 4th name nickname for a Mayan bean farmer) and this name is still widely found today.

It's also critical to note that the Spanish peninsula was taken over by the Muslims at some point, bringing Muslim last names like 'Mohamed' into the culture. Mohamed is still one of the most popular last names in Spain today.

Why do most Hispanic people have two surnames?

You may have noticed one of your Hispanic friends has two surnames. Or maybe you have two surnames but never understood why. The reason most Hispanic people have two surnames is because it is common practice to give your child both the surname of the father and the surname of the mother.

This is in stark contrast to American society in which most Americans are only given the surname of their father. So if Alberto Delgado and Maria Moreno had a son, he would be named Juan Delgado Moreno. This has long been a tradition in Hispanic culture.

Hundreds of years ago, the two surnames would be separated by the Spanish word for and 'y,' so our above friend would be Juan Delgado y Moreno, but this practice has become almost obsolete in the modern-day. Today, most Hispanic children are still given the surnames of both parents but without the 'y' (and).

Does a Hispanic surname mean someone is of Hispanic descent?

Just because your last name is Garcia, doesn't mean you are of Hispanic descent. As mentioned above, the Spanish completely took over several indigenous people in Central and South America and it is just as likely that you would have Mayan or Aztec blood as Spanish blood.

Additionally, America is a giant melting pot of cultures. You may have had one Spanish ancestor at one time almost 200 years ago, followed by ancestors of Asian, British, and African American descent, but your last name could still be Garcia. In fact, the top Hispanic last name, Garcia, is held by 92% of people who consider themselves Hispanic. Therefore the other 8% of people who hold this name identify as a different race. Thus it's probably better not to assume someone is Hispanic just because of their last name.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of last names was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve our data, please contact us.

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