2000
#334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 83,731
First available Census row
Per 100,000 31.04
Common Last name
Dominguez
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Domingo," derived from the Latin "Dominicus," meaning "of the Lord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133,866 Americans carry the last name Dominguez. That puts it at #260 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 39.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,560 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dominguez 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Dominguez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
134K
1 in 2,560
Census rank
#260
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
39.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116,738 bearers of the surname Dominguez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 39.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 260th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dominguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dominguez
The surname Dominguez originated in Spain, deriving from the Spanish personal name Domingo. Domingo is derived from the Latin dies Dominica, meaning "the Lord's Day" or Sunday.
The surname Dominguez first appeared in the early Middle Ages, likely emerging in the late 11th or 12th century. It was initially concentrated in northern and central Spain, particularly in areas like Galicia, Castile, and Aragon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Dominguez can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a 14th-century census document from the Kingdom of Castile. It lists several individuals with the surname Dominguez, indicating its presence in the region during that time.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various documents and records across Spain. Notably, a man named Juan Dominguez was mentioned in the records of the Inquisition in Seville in 1481.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the surname Dominguez spread to other parts of the world. One notable individual was Fray Francisco Dominguez, a Spanish missionary who lived from 1603 to 1676 and played a significant role in the evangelization efforts in the Philippines.
Another prominent figure with the surname Dominguez was Gaspar Dominguez, a Spanish explorer and navigator who was born in Seville in 1770. He led several expeditions along the Pacific Coast of North America in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century, Benigno Dominguez, a Cuban lawyer and politician born in 1828, made significant contributions to the independence movement in Cuba.
Ramón Dominguez, a Venezuelan composer and conductor born in 1866, achieved recognition for his works that blended European and Venezuelan musical traditions.
The surname Dominguez also gained prominence in the United States, particularly among Hispanic communities. One notable figure was Carlos Dominguez, a Mexican-American journalist and civil rights activist who lived from 1887 to 1972 and fought for the rights of Mexican Americans in California.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dominguez
Among Census respondents with the surname Dominguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Dominguez 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 Dominguez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.4% · 107,856
- White5.3% · 6,129
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 1,418
- Black or African American0.5% · 527
- Two or more races0.4% · 410
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 398
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dominguez
Dominguez 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
#254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119,304
+35,573 bearers (+42.5%)
Per 100,000 40.44
Rank movement Up 80 places
2020
#260
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116,738
-2,566 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 39.06
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #334 | 83,731 | 31.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #254 | 119,304 | 40.44 | +35,573 bearers (+42.5%) | Up 80 places |
| 2020 | #260 | 116,738 | 39.06 | -2,566 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 6 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 Dominguez 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 | #254 | #260 | -2.4% |
| Count | 119,304 | 116,738 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 40.44 | 39.06 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dominguez bearers went from 119,304 to 116,738 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #254 to #260.
FAQ
Dominguez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dominguez?
Name Census estimates that about 133,866 living Americans carry the surname Dominguez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,560 residents.
How common is Dominguez?
Dominguez ranks #260 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 39.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 39 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116,738 people with the surname Dominguez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133,866), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 39.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 39.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 39 of them to have the surname Dominguez.
Has Dominguez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dominguez went from 119,304 recorded bearers to 116,738. That is a decrease of 2,566 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #254 to #260.
What does the Census say about the background of Dominguez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dominguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%). 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 Dominguez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (107,856 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dominguez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.4%), White (5.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%). 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 Dominguez (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 Dominguez mean?
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Domingo," derived from the Latin "Dominicus," meaning "of the Lord." 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 Dominguez (39.06 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 Americans have the surname Dominguez?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.