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

Martínez-Rivera, 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 Martínez-Rivera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Martínez-Rivera in America

Martínez-Rivera is the 69996th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Martínez-Rivera surname appeared 280 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 Martínez-Rivera.

The history of the last name Martínez-Rivera

The surname MARTINEZRIVERA is a double-barreled Spanish surname that originated in Spain and Mexico during the 16th century. The first component, Martinez, is a patronymic surname derived from the given name Martín, which is the Spanish form of the Latin name Martinus, meaning "of Mars" or "belonging to Mars." The second component, Rivera, is a topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a riverbank or shore.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Martinez can be traced back to medieval Spain, where it appeared in various historical records and manuscripts. One notable example is the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century hunting treatise commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile, which mentions several individuals with the surname Martinez.

The double-barreled surname MARTINEZRIVERA likely emerged during the Spanish colonization of Mexico in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was common for Spanish settlers and their descendants to adopt compound surnames, often combining their paternal and maternal family names or incorporating local place names.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname MARTINEZRIVERA was Fray Diego Martínez de Rivera, a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as the guardian of the Convent of San Francisco in Mexico City in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, Andrés Martínez de Rivera y Cabezón was a prominent Spanish military officer and governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1659 to 1667.

During the 18th century, José Martínez de Rivera y Vizcaíno was a Spanish naval officer and explorer who led an expedition to the Pacific Northwest in 1774, exploring and mapping parts of the California coast.

In the 19th century, José María Martínez de Rivera y Vizcarra was a Mexican lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance during the presidency of Antonio López de Santa Anna.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Miguel Martínez Rivera, a Puerto Rican poet and writer who lived from 1865 to 1936 and was known for his contributions to the Romantic literary movement in Puerto Rico.

While the surname MARTINEZRIVERA has its origins in Spain and Mexico, it has since spread to various parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including other Latin American countries and the United States, where it is particularly prevalent among Hispanic communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Martínez-Rivera

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Martínez-Rivera.

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 Martínez-Rivera 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 Martínez-Rivera was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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