Godínez last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Godínez

A Spanish habitational surname indicating someone from any of the various places called Godínez in Spain.

Godínez, 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 Godínez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Godínez in America

Godínez is the 1665th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Godínez surname appeared 21,640 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Godínez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Godínez 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 1665 2346 -33.96%
Count 21,640 14,152 41.84%
Proportion per 100k 7.34 5.25 33.20%

The history of the last name Godínez

The surname Godinez is of Spanish origin, derived from the personal name Godino, which itself is a Spanish form of the Germanic name Goding or Goten. The name Godinez likely emerged in the 8th or 9th century during the Reconquista, when Christian territories in the Iberian Peninsula were gradually reclaimed from the Moors.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Godinez can be found in medieval Spanish documents from the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in regions such as Castile, León, and Extremadura. Some historical records suggest that the name may have originated in the town of Godínez, located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the Godinez surname was Juan Godínez, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the wars against the Moors during the reign of Alfonso XI of Castile (1312-1350). Another historical reference is found in the 16th century, when Alonso Godínez de Millis (1564-1634), a Spanish Catholic priest and writer, authored several religious works and served as a chaplain to King Philip III of Spain.

During the 17th century, the Godinez surname was also present in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. One example is Juan Godínez, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala in the early 1500s. In the 18th century, José Godínez y Paz (1723-1790) was a Spanish-born painter and engraver who worked in colonial Mexico.

Another notable figure was Miguel Godínez (1875-1949), a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the governor of the state of Chihuahua from 1920 to 1924. He played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution and the establishment of the post-revolutionary government.

While the Godinez surname is primarily associated with Spain and its former colonies, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and family ties. However, it remains most prevalent in Spanish-speaking countries and communities with historical connections to Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Godínez

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

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 Godínez was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 3.69% 799
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.10% 22
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.58% 126
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.21% 45
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.21% 45
Hispanic Origin 95.22% 20,606

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 3.69% 4.35% -16.42%
Black 0.10% 0.11% -9.52%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.58% 0.70% -18.75%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.21% 0.20% 4.88%
Two or More Races 0.21% 0.23% -9.09%
Hispanic 95.22% 94.42% 0.84%

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 Godínez was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Godínez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinez-surname-popularity/.

"Godínez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinez-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 December, 2024

Godínez last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/godinez-surname-popularity/.

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