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

Hernández, 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 Hernández surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hernández in America

Hernández is the 62714th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernández surname appeared 319 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 Hernández.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hernández 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 Hernández

The surname Hernandaz is of Spanish origin, with roots dating back to the medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula. It is a patronymic name derived from the given name Hernando, which is a variant of Fernando or Ferdinand. This name ultimately traces its origins to the Germanic elements "fridu," meaning peace, and "nanth," meaning brave or daring.

In its earliest forms, the surname was often spelled Hernandez or Fernandez, reflecting the interchangeability of the initial "H" and "F" sounds in Spanish. The name is closely associated with the regions of Castile and Andalusia, where it gained prominence during the era of the Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hernandaz can be found in the 13th-century Libro de la Montería, a hunting treatise commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. This manuscript mentions a certain Hernando de Sotomayor, a nobleman and huntsman in the king's service.

During the Age of Exploration, the Hernandaz surname was carried across the Atlantic by Spanish conquistadors and settlers. Among the notable figures bearing this name was Diego Hernandez de Córdoba, a Spanish conquistador who led the first European exploration of the Yucatán Peninsula in 1517.

Another prominent individual was Juan Hernandez, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 16th century. Hernandez played a crucial role in the conquest of the Aztec Empire and later served as governor of territories in present-day Mexico.

In the realm of literature, the name Hernandaz is associated with Miguel Hernández, a celebrated Spanish poet and playwright of the 20th century, known for his works such as "Viento del Pueblo" and "El Rayo que no Cesa." He was born in 1910 and tragically died in prison in 1942 after being persecuted for his political beliefs during the Spanish Civil War.

The Hernandaz surname has also left its mark on the world of sports, with figures like Luis Hernández, a Mexican professional baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Florida Marlins, between the 1980s and 2000s.

Throughout its long history, the surname Hernandaz has been associated with various place names and regions within Spain, such as Hernández de Segovia, Hernández de Arcos, and Hernández de Córdoba, reflecting the geographic spread of families bearing this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hernández

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

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

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

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