Flores Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin

In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Flores and how popular it is in the United States. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Flores.

Flores, like all of the 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 Flores surname is from the 2010 census data.

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What is the Origin and Meaning of the Last Name Flores?

The surname of Flores has an interesting origin that spans two different languages. Originating from Spain which from 206 BC was under Roman control, Flores likely originates from the Latin word florus meaning “to bloom or flourish." Centuries later around 410 AD the Germanic Visigoth tribe were pushing the Romans out of Europe and took over Spain for almost three centuries. The Visigoths brought with them the word froila meaning “lord" or "master.” It is possible these two words merged and formed the name Flores.

It is also possible that some people who bear the name Flores may have ancestors who lived in a town or region that bore the name. It was common practice for identification purposes for individuals to refer to themselves by their given name and their location of origin. As an example, a gentleman named Juan who came from the town of Torres would be Juan de Flores “Juan of Flores.”

Alonzo Florez is one of the earliest recorded people to bear this name. Florez’s birth is recorded as March 8th 1566, in Santa Maria Magdalena, Valladolid.

Isabel Flores de Oliva (20 April 1586 – 24 August 1617) is best known as St. Rose of Lima. Flores was born into a military family; her father was in the Spanish army. A devout Catholic from a young age, she practiced severe penance because she was ashamed that men had begun to take notice of her.

She dearly wanted to become a nun but her father forbade her to do so. Instead, she entered the Third Order of St Dominic. At the age of twenty, she pledged to remain a virgin and embarked on a life of self-punishment for the remaining 11 years of her life.

Where Does Flores Rank in the Most Common U.S. Names?

According to the data, Flores is ranked #40 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

The Flores surname appeared 433,969 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 147.12 would have the surname Flores.

We can also compare 2010 data for Flores 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 40 55 -31.58%
Count 433,969 312,615 32.51%
Proportion per 100k 147.12 115.89 23.75%

Race and Ethnic Origin of People with the Last Name Flores

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Flores.

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: "White only", "Black only", "American Indian and Alaskan Native only", "Asian and Pacific Islander only", "Two or More Races", and "Hispanic".

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

  • 4.87%, or 21,134 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
  • 0.42%, or 1,823 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
  • 2.08%, or 9,027 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
  • 0.34%, or 1,475 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
  • 0.36%, or 1,562 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
  • 91.94%, or 398,991 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

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 Flores has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.87% 5.57% -13.41%
Black 0.42% 0.47% -11.24%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.08% 2.15% -3.31%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.34% 0.43% -23.38%
Two or More Races 0.36% 0.54% -40.00%
Hispanic 91.94% 90.84% 1.20%

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Flores Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 29, 2024. https://namecensus.com/last-names/flores-surname-popularity/.

  • "Flores Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/flores-surname-popularity/. Accessed 29 March, 2024

  • Flores Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/last-names/flores-surname-popularity/.