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 103181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jiménez surname appeared 174 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.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jiménez 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 Jiménez

The surname Jinenez is of Spanish origin, derived from the given name Gines, which in turn comes from the Greek name Gennadios, meaning "well-born" or "noble." This name was brought to the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman occupation and eventually evolved into the Spanish form Gines.

The earliest known record of the surname Jinenez dates back to the 13th century in the region of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is believed that the surname originated as a patronymic, indicating "son of Gines," which was a common practice in medieval Spain.

One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Diego Jimenez de Quesada, a Spanish conquistador born around 1495 in Granada. He is renowned for leading the Spanish conquest of the Muisca Confederation, which encompassed the present-day territories of Colombia.

Another notable figure was Juan Jimenez de Cisneros, a Spanish cardinal and statesman born in 1436 in Torrelaguna, near Madrid. He served as the Grand Inquisitor of Spain and played a significant role in the Spanish Inquisition.

In the 16th century, the surname Jinenez was also found in the vicinity of Seville, particularly in the town of Utrera. One prominent individual from this area was Gaspar Jinenez de Cisneros, a Spanish painter born around 1560, known for his religious works and portraits.

The Jinenez surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Jimenez de la Frontera, a municipality in the province of Cádiz, and Jimenez de Jamuz, a village in the province of León.

During the Age of Exploration and subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas, the surname Jinenez was carried across the Atlantic, and individuals bearing this name played significant roles in the conquest and settlement of the New World. One such figure was Diego Jiménez Ríos, a Spanish conquistador born around 1510 in Seville, who participated in the conquest of Guatemala and served as the first governor of Costa Rica.

Throughout history, the Jinenez surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Giménez, Ximénez, and Jimenez, reflecting regional differences and the evolution of the Spanish language over time.

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.

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