Cruz-Martínez last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Cruz-Martínez is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cruz-Martínez.

Meaning of Cruz-Martínez

A compound surname combining the Portuguese name Cruz referring to the cross and the Spanish name Martínez meaning son of Martín.

Cruz-Martínez, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cruz-Martínez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cruz-Martínez in America

Cruz-Martínez is the 27228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cruz-Martínez surname appeared 888 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cruz-Martínez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cruz-Martínez to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 27228 79394 -97.85%
Count 888 223 119.71%
Proportion per 100k 0.30 0.08 115.79%

The history of the last name Cruz-Martínez

The surname CRUZMARTINEZ is a double-barreled Spanish surname with origins that can be traced back to the 15th century. It is a combination of the two surnames Cruz and Martinez, both of which have deep roots in the Iberian Peninsula.

The first part of the name, Cruz, is derived from the Spanish word for "cross." It is believed that this surname was originally adopted by individuals who lived near a prominent cross or who were involved in the crusades. The earliest recorded instances of the surname Cruz can be found in medieval records from the regions of Castile and Aragon.

The second part of the name, Martinez, is a patronymic surname, meaning "son of Martin." The name Martin itself is derived from the Roman god Mars, and it was a popular name among early Christians in Spain. The suffix "-ez" was added to denote the son or descendant of someone named Martin.

One of the earliest known bearers of the combined surname CRUZMARTINEZ was Juan de la Cruz Martinez, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. He is recorded as having participated in the conquest of the Aztec Empire and was granted land in what is now the state of Veracruz.

In the 17th century, the CRUZMARTINEZ surname can be found in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, where a man named Pedro Cruz Martinez was accused of heresy and brought before the tribunal in Seville. While the outcome of his case is unknown, it serves as a historical reference to the presence of this surname during that period.

During the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname CRUZMARTINEZ was María de la Cruz Martinez, a Spanish nun and mystic who was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1962. She was born in 1789 in the village of Agreda, located in the region of Castile and León.

Another significant bearer of the CRUZMARTINEZ surname was José Cruz Martinez, a Mexican revolutionary who fought alongside Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. He was born in 1876 in the state of Chihuahua and played a crucial role in several battles against the federal forces.

In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Miguel Cruz Martinez, a renowned Spanish poet and playwright from the 20th century. Born in 1920 in Granada, he was known for his works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. His poetry collection, "Cantos de Vida y Esperanza," published in 1953, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of modern Spanish literature.

These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the surname CRUZMARTINEZ throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of Spanish and Mexican culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cruz-Martínez

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cruz-Martínez.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cruz-Martínez was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 1.35% 12
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 98.20% 872

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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cruz-Martínez has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 1.35% 2.24% -49.58%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic 98.20% 97.31% 0.91%

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 the name Cruz-Martínez was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cruz-Martínez, please contact us.

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"Cruz-Martínez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/cruzmartinez-surname-popularity/.

"Cruz-Martínez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/cruzmartinez-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Cruz-Martínez last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/cruzmartinez-surname-popularity/.

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