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

Gonzales, 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 Gonzales surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gonzales in America

Gonzales is the 111th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gonzales surname appeared 214,758 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 73 people would have the surname Gonzales.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gonzales 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.

The history of the last name Gonzales

The surname Gonzales is Spanish in origin, derived from the personal name Gonzalo, which in turn is derived from the ancient Germanic name Gundisalvus. The name is composed of two parts: "gund" meaning "battle" and "salvus" meaning "safe" or "protection."

The earliest recorded use of the surname Gonzales can be traced back to the 9th century in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in the Basque Country and Navarre. It is believed that the name originated as a patronymic, meaning "son of Gonzalo," and was later adopted as a hereditary surname.

The Gonzales surname has a rich history, with several notable individuals bearing this name throughout the centuries. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Becerro Galicano, a 13th-century manuscript that records the noble families of Galicia, Spain.

In the 15th century, Juan Gonzales de Mendoza (1428-1495) was an influential Spanish cardinal and statesman who served as the Archbishop of Seville and played a crucial role in the Spanish Inquisition. Another notable figure was Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), the Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico.

The Gonzales surname also has a strong presence in the New World, with many individuals bearing this name contributing to the exploration and settlement of the Americas. One such individual was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (1495-1579), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who founded the city of Bogotá, Colombia, in 1538.

In the literary world, Tomás Gonzales de Santalla (1624-1682) was a Spanish playwright and poet who wrote numerous plays and poems during the Golden Age of Spanish literature. More recently, José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), a Cuban novelist, poet, and essayist, is considered one of the most influential figures in Latin American literature of the 20th century.

The Gonzales surname has also been prominent in various fields, including politics, sports, and entertainment. For example, Henry B. Gonzales (1916-1998) was a prominent American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas for nearly four decades.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gonzales

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

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 Gonzales was:

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

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

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

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