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 102197th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernández surname appeared 176 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.

The history of the last name Hernández

The surname HERNANDEZC originated in Spain during the medieval period, deriving from the personal name Hernando, which is a Spanish form of Ferdinand. The name Hernando is derived from the Germanic elements "heri" meaning army and "nandu" meaning brave or daring.

The earliest recorded instances of the HERNANDEZC surname can be traced back to the 12th century in various regions of Spain, particularly in the regions of Castile and Andalusia. The suffix "-ez" was commonly added to Spanish surnames during this time, indicating a patronymic form meaning "son of."

One notable early bearer of the HERNANDEZC name was Diego Hernández de Córdoba, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century under Hernán Cortés. Another prominent figure was Francisco Hernández, a 16th-century Spanish physician and naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of Mexico and wrote an influential work titled "Historia Plantarum Novae Hispaniae."

In the 15th century, the HERNANDEZC surname appeared in the records of the town of Herencia, located in the province of Ciudad Real in central Spain. This could indicate a possible connection between the surname and this place name, although the exact origins are unclear.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as Spain expanded its colonial empire, many individuals bearing the HERNANDEZC surname migrated to the Americas, particularly to Mexico, Peru, and other parts of Latin America. Prominent figures from this period include Juan Hernández Ramírez, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and colonist who accompanied Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, and Gonzalo Hernández de Oviedo y Valdés, a 16th-century Spanish historian and author who wrote extensively about the early Spanish settlements in the Americas.

Another notable bearer of the HERNANDEZC surname was José Hernández, a 19th-century Argentine poet and journalist best known for his epic poem "Martín Fierro," which is considered a classic of Argentine literature.

Throughout history, the HERNANDEZC surname has been widely dispersed across various regions, reflecting the Spanish influence and migration patterns over the centuries. Despite its widespread distribution, the name maintains its roots in the medieval period of Spain and its connection to the personal name Hernando.

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.

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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