2010
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hernandas
A surname likely of Spanish origin derived from the given name Hernando.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Hernandas. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hernandas surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Hernandas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hernandas
The surname HERNANDAS has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Hernando or Fernando, which itself comes from the Germanic name Ferdinand, meaning "brave traveler" or "daring journey."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HERNANDAS surname can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval cartulary from the Kingdom of Navarre, dated around the 11th century. This document mentions a certain Domingo Hernandas, who was a landowner in the region.
During the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, many families with the HERNANDAS surname played a role in the military campaigns. One notable figure was Pedro Hernandas de Córdoba (c. 1390-1455), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Battle of Higueruela against the Moors in 1431.
The HERNANDAS name also has a connection to the New World. In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, several explorers and conquistadors bore this surname. One example is Juan Hernandas de Ribera (c. 1520-1585), who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and later became a prominent encomendero in the region of Tlaxcala.
Another prominent figure with the HERNANDAS surname was Fray Bartolomé Hernandas (c. 1475-1566), a Spanish Franciscan friar and historian who authored the seminal work "Historia General de las Indias Occidentales," one of the earliest and most comprehensive accounts of the indigenous cultures of the Americas.
In the realm of arts and literature, the HERNANDAS name is represented by Juan Hernandas Hidalgo (c. 1610-1685), a Spanish playwright and poet from the Golden Age of Spanish literature, known for his comedies and religious works.
The HERNANDAS surname has also been found in various place names throughout Spain, such as Hernandas de Pedraza, a municipality in the province of Segovia, and Hernandas, a village in the province of Huelva, likely named after early settlers bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hernandas
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hernandas bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hernandas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.1% · 95
- White3.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hernandas
Hernandas appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-17 bearers (-14.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,598 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.3%) | Down 14,598 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hernandas surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #140,157 | #154,755 | -10.4% |
| Count | 119 | 102 | -14.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hernandas bearers went from 119 to 102 (-14.3% change). The surname moved down 14,598 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #154,755.
FAQ
Hernandas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hernandas?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Hernandas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Hernandas?
Hernandas ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Hernandas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hernandas.
Has Hernandas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hernandas went from 119 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Hernandas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hernandas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hernandas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.1%), White (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hernandas (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hernandas mean?
A surname likely of Spanish origin derived from the given name Hernando. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hernandas (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Hernandas?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.