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

Hernandes, 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 Hernandes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hernandes in America

Hernandes is the 4123rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernandes surname appeared 8,612 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Hernandes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hernandes 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 Hernandes

The surname Hernandes originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is a patronymic name derived from the Spanish given name Hernando, which is a variant of Fernando or Ferdinand. The name Fernando itself is of Germanic origin, stemming from the elements "fridu" (peace) and "nanth" (brave or daring).

In its earliest form, the surname was likely spelled as Hernandez or Fernandez, with the "H" representing the Germanic "fridu" element. The name spread across Spain during the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquests over the Moors from the 8th to the 15th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a 10th-century manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. The document mentions individuals with the surname Fernández, which later evolved into Hernandes.

The name gained prominence during the Age of Exploration, when Spanish conquistadors and explorers ventured to the Americas and other parts of the world. Notable historical figures with the surname Hernandes include Diego Hernandes de Serpa (c. 1510-1594), a Spanish conquistador who explored parts of present-day Venezuela and Colombia, and Juan Hernandes Zapata (c. 1530-1598), a Spanish navigator and cartographer who accompanied the Álvaro de Mendaña expedition to the Solomon Islands.

Another influential bearer of the name was Francisco Hernandes (1515-1587), a Spanish Renaissance physician and naturalist known for his pioneering work in the field of ethnobotany. His "Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus" (Treasury of the Medicinal Plants of New Spain) is considered one of the earliest comprehensive works on the flora of the Americas.

In the realm of literature, Juan Hernandes Campuzano (1558-1622) was a Spanish Golden Age playwright and poet, known for his involvement in the Controversia sobre las Comedias, a debate on the morality of theatrical performances in Spain.

The surname Hernandes also has a notable presence in the arts, with José Hernandes Díaz (1876-1942), a Spanish painter and illustrator who specialized in portraits and rural landscapes, and Jesús Hernandes Cuellar (1892-1977), a Mexican painter and muralist associated with the Mexican Muralism movement.

Throughout its long history, the surname Hernandes has been subject to various spelling variations, including Hernandez, Fernandes, and Fernandez, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions. However, its essential meaning and connection to the Spanish heritage have remained consistent over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hernandes

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

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

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

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