2000
#4,461
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,313
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.71
Rare Last name
Hernandes
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Hernando," a variant of Fernando, which means "adventurous traveler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,113 Americans carry the last name Hernandes. That puts it at #8,773 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,334 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hernandes 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
4.1K
1 in 83,334
Census rank
#8,773
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,587 bearers of the surname Hernandes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8773rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Black (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hernandes
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Black (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hernandes 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 Hernandes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.8% · 3,328
- White5.3% · 190
- Black or African American0.7% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
- Two or more races0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hernandes
Hernandes appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,612
+1,299 bearers (+17.8%)
Per 100,000 2.92
Rank movement Up 338 places
2020
#8,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,587
-5,025 bearers (-58.3%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 4,650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,461 | 7,313 | 2.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,123 | 8,612 | 2.92 | +1,299 bearers (+17.8%) | Up 338 places |
| 2020 | #8,773 | 3,587 | 1.20 | -5,025 bearers (-58.3%) | Down 4,650 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 Hernandes 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 | #4,123 | #8,773 | -112.8% |
| Count | 8,612 | 3,587 | -58.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.92 | 1.20 | -58.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hernandes bearers went from 8,612 to 3,587 (-58.3% change). The surname moved down 4,650 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,123 to #8,773.
FAQ
Hernandes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hernandes?
Name Census estimates that about 4,113 living Americans carry the surname Hernandes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,334 residents.
How common is Hernandes?
Hernandes ranks #8,773 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,587 people with the surname Hernandes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,113), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hernandes.
Has Hernandes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hernandes went from 8,612 recorded bearers to 3,587. That is a decrease of 5,025 (-58.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,123 to #8,773.
What does the Census say about the background of Hernandes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hernandes, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Hernandes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (3,328 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hernandes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.8%), White (5.3%), Black (0.7%). 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 Hernandes (2000, 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 Hernandes mean?
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Hernando," a variant of Fernando, which means "adventurous traveler." 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 Hernandes (1.20 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 Hernandes?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.