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

Ramos, 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 Ramos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ramos in America

Ramos is the 76th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ramos surname appeared 263,464 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 89 people would have the surname Ramos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ramos 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 Ramos

The surname Ramos originated in Spain and Portugal, where it is believed to have been derived from the Spanish word "ramo," meaning a branch or bough. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a prominent tree or stand of trees.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared with variations in spelling, such as Ramus and Ramo, reflecting the evolution of language and regional dialects. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Martín Ramos, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.

The Ramos surname can be traced back to the 12th century in Spain, where it was documented in the Cartulario de Corias, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of San Juan Bautista in Asturias. This indicates that the name had already become established in the region by that time.

During the Middle Ages, the Ramos family held land and titles in various parts of Spain, including Castile, Andalusia, and Galicia. Notable individuals with this surname include Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (1490-1547), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico.

In Portugal, the Ramos surname can be traced back to the 14th century, with references to individuals such as João Ramos, a prominent nobleman and landowner in the region of Alentejo during the reign of King Afonso IV (1325-1357).

Other notable figures with the Ramos surname include:

1. Gonzalo Ramos (c. 1501-1558), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro.
2. Juan Ramos (c. 1590-1650), a Spanish architect known for his work on the Cathedral of Granada.
3. Francisco Ramos de Pareja (c. 1615-1670), a Spanish painter and one of the few known artists of African descent from the Spanish Golden Age.
4. José Ramos-Horta (born 1949), a East Timorese politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as President of East Timor from 2007 to 2012.
5. Fidel Ramos (born 1928), a Filipino politician and military leader who served as the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ramos

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!