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 79846th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hernández surname appeared 238 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.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hernández 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 Hernández

The surname Hernedez is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish name Hernando, which is a shortened form of the personal name Fernando. Fernando, in turn, is derived from the Germanic elements fardi, meaning "journey," and nanth, meaning "daring" or "brave." The surname likely originated in the 11th or 12th century in the regions of Spain that were reconquered from the Moors by Christian forces.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hernedez can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century manuscript that details hunting traditions in medieval Spain. This document mentions a certain Pedro Hernedez, who was a huntsman in the service of King Alfonso XI of Castile (ruled 1312-1350).

In the 15th century, the surname Hernedez was associated with the town of Herrera, located in the province of Seville, Andalusia. It is likely that some branches of the Hernedez family took their name from this place, which was derived from the Latin word ferraria, meaning "iron works."

A notable figure in the history of the Hernedez surname is Juan Hernedez, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the 16th century. Juan Hernedez was born in Seville around 1490 and played a crucial role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Another distinguished individual with the surname Hernedez was José Hernández, an Argentine poet, journalist, and politician who was born in 1834 and died in 1886. He is best known for his epic poem "El Gaucho Martín Fierro," which is considered a masterpiece of Argentine literature.

In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Hernedez surname was Benigno Hernández Moñiz, a Spanish engineer and inventor who was born in 1846 and died in 1916. He is credited with designing and building the first successful submarine for the Spanish Navy, which was launched in 1888.

The surname Hernedez has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Hernedez de Sayago, a municipality in the province of Zamora, and Hernedez de la Orden, a town in the province of Valladolid.

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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hernández 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 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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