Find out how popular the last name Hernández Mejía 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 Mejía.

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

Popularity of Hernández Mejía in America

Hernández Mejía is the 126018th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernández Mejía surname appeared 136 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 Mejía.

The history of the last name Hernández Mejía

The surname HERNANDEZMEJIA is of Spanish origin, originating in the regions of Spain during the medieval period. It is a compound surname, formed by the combination of two separate surnames: Hernandez and Mejia.

The first part, Hernandez, is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Hernando, which is the Spanish form of the Germanic name Ferdinand. It means "brave traveler" or "adventurous journey." This name was particularly common in the regions of Castile and Andalusia during the Middle Ages.

The second part, Mejia, is believed to have originated from the Arabic word "mukhayya," meaning "tent-maker" or "tent-dweller." This surname was prevalent in the regions of Murcia and Valencia, where many families of Moorish descent settled during the period of Muslim rule in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname HERNANDEZMEJIA can be found in the archives of the Archbishopric of Toledo, dating back to the 15th century. In these records, a certain Rodrigo Hernandez Mejia is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Illescas, near Toledo.

During the Age of Exploration, several individuals bearing the surname HERNANDEZMEJIA played significant roles in the Spanish conquests and colonization of the Americas. Notable among them were:

1. Diego Hernandez Mejia (c. 1490-1560), a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and later served as a governor in various regions of New Spain.

2. Alonso Hernandez Mejia (c. 1515-1585), a soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro and later became a prominent landowner in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

3. Juana Hernandez Mejia (c. 1530-1598), a wealthy landowner and philanthropist in the city of Seville, known for her generous donations to religious institutions and charitable causes.

4. Pedro Hernandez Mejia (c. 1570-1635), a Jesuit missionary who traveled to the Philippines and helped establish several missions and schools in the region.

5. Francisco Hernandez Mejia (c. 1620-1689), a military officer who served in the Spanish campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean and later became the governor of the Canary Islands.

The surname HERNANDEZMEJIA has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Spain, such as the town of Hernandez Mejia in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, and the Hernandez Mejia Estate in the region of Extremadura.

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

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

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 Mejía 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 Mejía 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 Mejía, please contact us.

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