Find out how popular the last name Gonzalez 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.

Gonzalez, 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 surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gonzalez in America

Gonzalez is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gonzalez surname appeared 326 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.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gonzalez 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 Gonzalez

The surname Gonzalez is of Spanish origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula. It is derived from the Spanish personal name "Gonzalo," which itself comes from the ancient Germanic name "Gundisalvus," meaning "battle-protection."

In the early Middle Ages, Gonzalez emerged as a patronymic surname, indicating "son of Gonzalo." It was common practice in Spain and other parts of the Iberian region to adopt patronymic surnames during this era. The name Gonzalez can be found in various historical records from the 11th century onwards.

One of the earliest known references to the Gonzalez surname is in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript associated with the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain. This document contains records of pilgrims and local residents, many of whom bore the name Gonzalez.

During the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territories from the Moors, the Gonzalez name was particularly prominent among noble families and military leaders. For instance, Fernán González, who lived from 910 to 970, was a renowned Count of Castile and a key figure in the Reconquista.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas and other parts of the world, the Gonzalez surname spread along with it. Notable individuals with this surname include Pedro Núñez de Guzmán y Gonzalez, a Spanish conquistador who played a significant role in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

In the realm of literature, one of the most famous bearers of the Gonzalez name was the Spanish poet and playwright Lope de Vega Carpio (1562-1635), considered one of the greatest dramatists of the Spanish Golden Age.

Another historical figure of note was Antonio González de Reguera (1556-1638), a Spanish admiral and explorer who led several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and mapped parts of the west coast of North America.

The surname Gonzalez has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Gonzalez de Valcarce in the province of León, and Gonzalez de Tevo in the province of Soria.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gonzalez

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

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 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 Gonzalez 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 Gonzalez 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, please contact us.

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