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 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rodríguez surname appeared 125 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, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It derives from the patronymic "Rodrigo," a Spanish form of the Germanic name "Roderick" or "Hrodric," meaning "famous power" or "renowned ruler." The earliest known bearer of the name was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid, a celebrated Castilian military leader and national hero who lived from around 1043 to 1099.

In the 12th century, the name Rodriguez appeared in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript that serves as a guide for pilgrims to the Santiago de Compostela cathedral in Galicia. This early reference suggests that the name had already gained prominence in northern Spain during that era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rodriguez can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century Castilian census document. The name is also mentioned in the Siete Partidas, a renowned legal code compiled during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile in the 13th century.

Throughout the centuries, numerous notable individuals have borne the surname Rodriguez. Among them are Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes (1723-1802), a Spanish statesman and reformer; Ventura Rodríguez (1717-1785), a prominent Spanish architect; and Andrés Rodríguez (1923-1997), a Cuban revolutionary and diplomat.

In the arts, we find the celebrated Mexican painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660), renowned for his portraits of the Spanish royal family. The 20th century saw the rise of Silvio Rodríguez (born 1946), a highly influential Cuban singer-songwriter and pioneer of the Nueva Trova movement.

The surname Rodriguez has also been carried by notable figures in literature, such as the Spanish poet Claudio Rodríguez (1934-1999) and the Uruguayan novelist Juan Carlos Rodríguez (1943-2011). These individuals, among countless others, have contributed to the rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance associated with the name Rodriguez.

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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