Find out how popular the last name Jiménez is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jiménez.

Jiménez, 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 Jiménez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jiménez in America

Jiménez is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jiménez surname appeared 107 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 Jiménez.

The history of the last name Jiménez

The surname Jimenez has its origins in Spain, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish given name Jimeno, which is a variant of the Germanic name Semeno or Simeone. This name ultimately traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Shim'on or Simon.

Jimenez is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-ez" to the given name Jimeno, indicating "son of Jimeno." This naming convention was common in Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Jimenez can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a cartulary or manuscript collection of documents from the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. This cartulary, dating back to the 10th century, includes references to individuals bearing the name Jimenez.

In the 12th century, the name appears in the Fuero de Sepúlveda, a legal code or charter granted to the town of Sepúlveda in the province of Segovia. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Jimenez, indicating the widespread use of the name in that region during that time period.

One notable bearer of the surname Jimenez was Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada (c. 1170-1247), a Spanish historian, politician, and Archbishop of Toledo. He is best known for his work Historia de rebus Hispaniæ, a chronicle of Spanish history from ancient times to the 13th century.

Another prominent figure with the surname Jimenez was Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958), a Spanish poet and scholar who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956 for his lyrical poetry.

Other notable individuals with the surname Jimenez include:

• Diego Jiménez de Ayllon (c. 1480-1538), a Spanish explorer and navigator who led expeditions to the present-day United States.
• Juan Jiménez (c. 1300-1350), a Spanish poet and author who wrote in the Galician-Portuguese language.
• Gaspar Jiménez de Cisneros (1460-1517), a Spanish cardinal and statesman who served as the regent of Spain during the early reign of Charles V.
• Cándida Jiménez (1893-1965), a Spanish painter and sculptor known for her portraiture and contributions to the Catalan Modernist movement.

The surname Jimenez has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Villanueva de Jiménez in the province of Jaén, and Jimena de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz, which likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname Jimenez.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jiménez

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

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 Jiménez 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 Jiménez was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jiménez, please contact us.

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