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

Rodríguez, 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 Rodríguez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rodríguez in America

Rodríguez is the 154907th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rodríguez surname appeared 105 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 Rodríguez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rodríguez 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 Rodríguez

The surname Rodriguez originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the given name Rodrigo, which itself comes from the Germanic elements "rod" meaning "famous" and "ric" meaning "power". The surname likely emerged as a patronymic, indicating "son of Rodrigo".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rodriguez can be found in the Becerro de Bengoa, a medieval Spanish manuscript compiled in the 14th century. This document mentions individuals with the surname Rodriguez living in various regions of Spain, such as Castile and Aragon.

In the 15th century, the name Rodriguez appeared in the Libro de Repartimiento, a record of land distribution in the city of Seville after the Reconquista. This suggests that individuals bearing the surname Rodriguez were among the early settlers of Seville following its reconquest from the Moors.

During the Age of Exploration, several notable individuals with the surname Rodriguez played significant roles in the Spanish conquests and explorations. One such figure was Francisco Rodriguez Ledesma, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

Another prominent bearer of the Rodriguez surname was Alonso Rodriguez, a Spanish soldier and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. He later served as a governor in various regions of present-day Peru and Chile.

In the realm of literature, the Spanish poet and playwright Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio, often known simply as Lope de Vega, was born in 1562 with the surname Rodriguez. He is considered one of the greatest dramatists of the Spanish Golden Age and is renowned for his numerous plays and poetry.

Moving forward to the 19th century, José Rodríguez Berlanga, a Spanish politician and writer born in 1825, made significant contributions to the field of history and literature. He served as a senator and was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Another notable figure with the surname Rodriguez is César Rodríguez, a Cuban-American baseball player born in 1980. He played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, and was known for his defensive skills as an outfielder.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rodríguez

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

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

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

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