2000
#42
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 388,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 144.20
Very Common Last name
Ramirez
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Ramiro," derived from the Germanic name Raginmir, meaning "counsel and famous."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 624,053 Americans carry the last name Ramirez. That puts it at #27 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 182.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 549 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramirez surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ramirez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
624K
1 in 549
Census rank
#27
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
182.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
544K
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 544,204 bearers of the surname Ramirez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 182.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramirez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramirez
The surname Ramirez originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname derived from the given name Ramiro, which comes from the Germanic words "ragin" meaning counsel and "meri" meaning famous. The name Ramiro was popular among the Visigoths who ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula before the Muslim conquest in the 8th century.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Ramirez surname is in the Becerro de Behetrías, a 14th-century census document from the reign of King Pedro I of Castile. This document lists several individuals with the Ramirez surname, indicating that the name was already well-established in Spain by that time.
During the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, several military leaders and nobles with the Ramirez surname played prominent roles. One notable figure was Alonso Ramirez de Arellano, a 14th-century Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought against the Moors in Granada.
As the Spanish empire expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ramirez surname spread to the Americas and other Spanish colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World is Pedro Ramirez, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.
Several notable figures throughout history have borne the Ramirez surname. These include Diego Ramirez de Haro (1290-1354), a Spanish nobleman and military leader during the Reconquista; Juan Ramirez de Lucena (1430-1501), a Spanish writer and chess theorist; and Ignacio Ramirez (1818-1879), a Mexican philosopher, journalist, and political activist who played a significant role in the Reform War.
Other famous individuals with the Ramirez surname include Ariel Ramirez (1921-2010), an Argentine composer and pianist known for his contributions to the nuevo cancionero movement; and Esteban Ramirez (1930-2004), a Mexican actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramirez
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramirez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramirez bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ramirez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 509,369
- White4.3% · 23,562
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 5,978
- Black or African American0.4% · 2,090
- Two or more races0.3% · 1,837
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1,368
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramirez
Ramirez appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#28
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 557,423
+168,436 bearers (+43.3%)
Per 100,000 188.97
Rank movement Up 14 places
2020
#27
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 544,204
-13,219 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 182.07
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #42 | 388,987 | 144.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #28 | 557,423 | 188.97 | +168,436 bearers (+43.3%) | Up 14 places |
| 2020 | #27 | 544,204 | 182.07 | -13,219 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 1 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ramirez surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #28 | #27 | 3.6% |
| Count | 557,423 | 544,204 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 188.97 | 182.07 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramirez bearers went from 557,423 to 544,204 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #28 to #27.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ramirez
FAQ
Ramirez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramirez?
Name Census estimates that about 624,053 living Americans carry the surname Ramirez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 549 residents.
How common is Ramirez?
Ramirez ranks #27 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 182.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 182 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 544,204 people with the surname Ramirez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (624,053), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 182.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 182.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 182 of them to have the surname Ramirez.
Has Ramirez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramirez went from 557,423 recorded bearers to 544,204. That is a decrease of 13,219 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #28 to #27.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramirez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramirez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ramirez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (509,369 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramirez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (4.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ramirez (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ramirez mean?
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Ramiro," derived from the Germanic name Raginmir, meaning "counsel and famous." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ramirez (182.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Ramirez?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.