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

Mendoza, 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 Mendoza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mendoza in America

Mendoza is the 82908th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mendoza surname appeared 227 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 Mendoza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mendoza 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 Mendoza

The surname Mendoza has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish place name Mendoza, which is located in the region of Álava, in northern Spain. The name itself is believed to have emerged from the Basque words "mendi," meaning mountain, and "hotza," meaning cold, suggesting a connection to a mountainous, cold area.

Mendoza was initially used as a territorial surname, indicating that the bearers of this name hailed from the town or region of Mendoza. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Becerro Galicano, a medieval Spanish manuscript dating back to the 13th century, which documents various noble families and their coats of arms.

In the 14th century, the Mendoza family rose to prominence as a powerful noble lineage in Spain. Iñigo López de Mendoza y Fernández de Ayala (1325-1379) was a renowned Spanish nobleman and military leader who played a crucial role in the Reconquista, the period of Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

Another notable figure bearing the Mendoza name was Pedro González de Mendoza (1428-1495), a Spanish cardinal and statesman who served as a diplomat and representative of the Spanish Crown during the reigns of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

In the 16th century, Antonio de Mendoza (1490-1552) was a Spanish nobleman and the first viceroy of New Spain, overseeing the colonization and governance of present-day Mexico from 1535 to 1550. His son, Francisco de Mendoza (1541-1623), followed in his footsteps and served as the viceroy of Peru from 1590 to 1596.

Another prominent figure with the Mendoza surname was Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503-1575), a Spanish Renaissance humanist, poet, and diplomat who served as an ambassador to various European courts and is renowned for his literary works, including the satirical novel "El Lazarillo de Tormes."

As the Mendoza family expanded and its members achieved prominence in various fields, the surname spread throughout Spain and its territories, eventually making its way to other parts of the world through migration and exploration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mendoza

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

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

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

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