2000
#20,468
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,205
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Jeronimo
Derived from the Latin name "Hieronymus," which means "sacred name," referring to a devout or holy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,345 Americans carry the last name Jeronimo. That puts it at #10,498 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,468 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jeronimo 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
3.3K
1 in 102,468
Census rank
#10,498
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,917 bearers of the surname Jeronimo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10498th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeronimo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jeronimo
The surname JERONIMO is of Spanish origin, deriving from the personal name Jerónimo, itself derived from the Greek name Hieronymus, meaning "sacred name." The name first emerged in Spain during the Middle Ages, likely in the 12th or 13th century.
JERONIMO is thought to have originated in the regions of Castile and Aragon, as these were areas where the name Jerónimo was particularly popular. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in medieval Spanish documents and records from the 13th and 14th centuries.
One notable early bearer of the surname was Pedro Jerónimo, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. He played a significant role in the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Another prominent figure was Juan Jerónimo Serra, a Spanish Franciscan friar born in 1713 on the island of Mallorca. Serra is renowned for establishing a series of missions in what is now the state of California, including the famous Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769.
In the realm of literature, the Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega, born in 1562, included a character named Jerónimo in his play "El Caballero de Olmedo." This work is considered a classic of the Spanish Golden Age theater.
Moving forward in time, José Jerónimo Trías y Giró, born in 1782 in Puebla, Mexico, was a notable lawyer, politician, and journalist who played a crucial role in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain.
Finally, Jerónimo Suñol i Munné, born in Barcelona in 1917, was a prominent Spanish architect and urban planner who significantly influenced the development of modern architecture in Catalonia and beyond.
These examples illustrate the historical significance and widespread use of the surname JERONIMO across various fields, from exploration and conquest to religion, literature, politics, and architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeronimo
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeronimo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jeronimo 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 Jeronimo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.4% · 2,667
- White6.7% · 194
- Two or more races0.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jeronimo
Jeronimo 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
#11,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,641
+1,436 bearers (+119.2%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 8,612 places
2020
#10,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,917
+276 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Up 1,358 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,468 | 1,205 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,856 | 2,641 | 0.90 | +1,436 bearers (+119.2%) | Up 8,612 places |
| 2020 | #10,498 | 2,917 | 0.98 | +276 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 1,358 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 Jeronimo 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 | #11,856 | #10,498 | 11.5% |
| Count | 2,641 | 2,917 | 10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.98 | 8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jeronimo bearers went from 2,641 to 2,917 (+10.5% change). The surname moved up 1,358 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,856 to #10,498.
FAQ
Jeronimo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jeronimo?
Name Census estimates that about 3,345 living Americans carry the surname Jeronimo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,468 residents.
How common is Jeronimo?
Jeronimo ranks #10,498 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,917 people with the surname Jeronimo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,345), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Jeronimo.
Has Jeronimo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jeronimo went from 2,641 recorded bearers to 2,917. That is an increase of 276 (+10.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,856 to #10,498.
What does the Census say about the background of Jeronimo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeronimo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Jeronimo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,667 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jeronimo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.4%), White (6.7%), Two or More Races (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 Jeronimo (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 Jeronimo mean?
Derived from the Latin name "Hieronymus," which means "sacred name," referring to a devout or holy person. 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 Jeronimo (0.98 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 common is the surname Jeronimo?
Want to know how many people have the last name Jeronimo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.