Find out how popular the last name Hernández Alvar 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 Alvar.

Hernández Alvar, 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 Alvar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hernández Alvar in America

Hernández Alvar is the 93125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernández Alvar surname appeared 197 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 Alvar.

The history of the last name Hernández Alvar

The surname HERNANDEZALVAR has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the late medieval period. The name is a combination of two distinct elements: "Hernandez" and "Alvar." Hernandez is a patronymic name derived from the Spanish given name "Hernando," which itself is a variant of the Germanic name "Ferdinand" meaning "brave traveler." The second part, "Alvar," is likely an adaptation of the Arabic name "Al-Wahir," meaning "the magnificent" or "the brilliant."

The earliest known record of the HERNANDEZALVAR surname dates back to the 14th century, appearing in a document from the city of Seville in Andalusia, a region with a strong Moorish influence during that era. This suggests that the name may have originated among the Moorish population or those of mixed Moorish and Spanish descent in southern Spain.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the HERNANDEZALVAR name was Juan Hernandez Alvar, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the ill-fated Narváez expedition to Florida in 1528. After the expedition's disastrous outcome, Hernandez Alvar and a few survivors endured an arduous journey across the American Southwest, eventually reaching Mexico City in 1536.

Another historical figure was Pedro Hernandez Alvar, a 17th-century Spanish soldier and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1642 to 1649. His tenure was marked by efforts to improve the region's defenses against pirate attacks and to promote economic development.

In the 18th century, the name appears in records from the Spanish colonies in the Americas, with individuals such as María Josefa Hernandez Alvar, a prominent landowner and rancher in what is now Texas, born in 1725.

During the 19th century, the HERNANDEZALVAR surname was borne by several notable figures in Spain, including Miguel Hernandez Alvar, a prominent linguist and philologist born in 1880, who made significant contributions to the study of Spanish dialects and language variations.

It is worth noting that the name HERNANDEZALVAR has undergone various spelling variations over time, such as Hernandez Alvar, Hernández-Alvar, and Hernández de Alvar, reflecting regional and historical influences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hernández Alvar

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

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 Alvar 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.

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 Alvar 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 Alvar, please contact us.

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