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

Gonzalez Rivera, 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 Gonzalez Rivera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gonzalez Rivera in America

Gonzalez Rivera is the 72105th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gonzalez Rivera surname appeared 270 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 Gonzalez Rivera.

The history of the last name Gonzalez Rivera

The surname GONZALEZRIVERA is a double-barreled Spanish surname that originated in the regions of Castile and Andalusia in Spain during the medieval period. It is a combination of two separate surnames, Gonzalez and Rivera, which were joined together to signify a family alliance or marriage between two prominent lineages.

The first part of the name, Gonzalez, is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Gonzalo, which has its roots in the Visigothic Germanic name Gundisalvus. This name was widely used in medieval Spain and can be traced back to the 9th century. The second part, Rivera, is a toponymic surname indicating that the family originated from a place called Rivera, which means "riverbank" or "shore" in Spanish.

Historical records indicate that the GONZALEZRIVERA surname first appeared in the 13th century, during the Reconquista period when Christian kingdoms were gradually reclaiming territories from the Moors. One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), written by King Alfonso XI of Castile in the 14th century, which mentions a nobleman named Pedro Gonzalez de Rivera.

In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, several individuals bearing the GONZALEZRIVERA surname played significant roles in the exploration and conquest of the New World. Juan Gonzalez Rivera (c. 1500-1570) was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and later served as the governor of Guatemala.

Another notable figure was Pedro Gonzalez de Rivera (1564-1628), a Spanish military officer and explorer who participated in the conquest of Chile and served as the governor of the Río de la Plata region (modern-day Argentina and Uruguay).

In later centuries, the GONZALEZRIVERA surname continued to be associated with prominent individuals in various fields. José Gonzalez Rivera (1786-1865) was a Venezuelan military leader and politician who played a crucial role in the Venezuelan War of Independence against Spanish rule.

Manuel Gonzalez Rivera (1851-1923) was a renowned Cuban poet and journalist known for his literary works and contributions to the Cuban independence movement.

Lastly, Enrique Gonzalez Rivera (1888-1973) was a Mexican architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Mexico City, including the Monumental Bullring and the National Auditorium.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gonzalez Rivera

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

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 Gonzalez Rivera 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.

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

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

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