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

Jorge, 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 Jorge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jorge in America

Jorge is the 5573rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jorge surname appeared 6,236 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Jorge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jorge 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 Jorge

The surname Jorge has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Portugal and Spain, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the given name Jorge, which in turn comes from the Greek name Georgios, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."

Jorge was first used as a surname in the 12th century, during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. As Christian kingdoms expanded, surnames became more widespread, and many individuals adopted Jorge as their family name, either because of their occupation as farmers or because it was their given name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Jorge can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a 14th-century manuscript that documented the landholdings and territories of Castile. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Jorge, indicating its presence in various regions of Spain during that time.

The surname Jorge also has connections to various place names in Portugal and Spain. For example, the town of Jorges, located in the province of Toledo, Spain, likely took its name from the Jorge family who may have been landowners or prominent residents in the area.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Jorge. One such figure was João Jorge, a 15th-century Portuguese explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his famous voyage to India in 1497-1499. Another notable bearer of the name was Álvaro Jorge, a 16th-century Portuguese composer who contributed to the development of Renaissance music in Portugal.

In Spain, the Jorge family produced several distinguished individuals, including Diego Jorge de Villalobos, a 16th-century physician and author who wrote a notable book on the treatment of syphilis. Another prominent figure was Miguel Jorge, a 17th-century Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraiture.

The surname Jorge has also been associated with notable individuals in other parts of the world, such as Jorge Luis Borges, the acclaimed 20th-century Argentine writer and poet, who was born in 1899 and died in 1986.

While the surname Jorge has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including Latin America, where it is still commonly found today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jorge

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

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

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

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