2000
#9
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 804,240
First available Census row
Per 100,000 298.13
Very Common Last name
Rodriguez
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Rodrigo," a Spanish given name derived from the Germanic name Roderick.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,245,159 Americans carry the last name Rodriguez. That puts it at #8 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 363.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 275 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rodriguez 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 Rodriguez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2M
1 in 275
Census rank
#8
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
363.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1M
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,085,838 bearers of the surname Rodriguez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 363.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodriguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rodriguez
The surname Rodriguez is of Spanish origin, derived from the name Rodrigo, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Roderic, meaning "famous power" or "powerful leader." It is believed to have originated in the region of Castile, Spain, during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Rodriguez dates back to the 10th century, when it appeared in a document from the monastery of San Pedro de Montes in the province of León, Spain. In this document, a nobleman named Roderico Rodríguez was mentioned as a landowner.
In the 12th century, the name Rodriguez was found in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript that served as a guide for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, a famous pilgrimage route across northern Spain. The manuscript mentioned a person named Rodrigo Rodríguez who was a wealthy landowner in the region of Galicia.
During the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territories from the Moors, several notable figures bore the name Rodriguez. One such figure was Rodrigo Rodríguez de Lara (c. 1170-1242), a powerful nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the conquest of Andalusia.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gonzalo Rodríguez de Avilés (1520-1603), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who founded the city of Havana, Cuba, in 1519. He was appointed as the first governor of the island by the Spanish Crown.
In the realm of literature, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Rodriguez was Ventura Rodríguez (1717-1785), a renowned Spanish architect and urban planner who designed several iconic buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace and the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande.
During the colonial era, the name Rodriguez spread to various parts of the Spanish Empire, including Latin America and the Philippines. One notable figure from this period was Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes (1723-1802), a Spanish politician and economist who served as the president of the Council of Castile and played a significant role in promoting economic reforms in Spain and its colonies.
Throughout history, the surname Rodriguez has been borne by many other notable individuals, including writers, artists, scientists, and political figures, cementing its place as one of the most prominent Spanish surnames worldwide.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodriguez
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodriguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rodriguez 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 Rodriguez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.0% · 1,010,137
- White5.1% · 55,661
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 7,495
- Black or African American0.6% · 6,771
- Two or more races0.3% · 3,519
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2,255
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rodriguez
Rodriguez 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
#9
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,094,924
+290,684 bearers (+36.1%)
Per 100,000 371.19
Rank movement No rank change
2020
#8
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,085,838
-9,086 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 363.28
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9 | 804,240 | 298.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9 | 1,094,924 | 371.19 | +290,684 bearers (+36.1%) | No rank change |
| 2020 | #8 | 1,085,838 | 363.28 | -9,086 bearers (-0.8%) | 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 Rodriguez 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 | #9 | #8 | 11.1% |
| Count | 1,094,924 | 1,085,838 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 371.19 | 363.28 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rodriguez bearers went from 1,094,924 to 1,085,838 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #9 to #8.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rodriguez
FAQ
Rodriguez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rodriguez?
Name Census estimates that about 1,245,159 living Americans carry the surname Rodriguez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 275 residents.
How common is Rodriguez?
Rodriguez ranks #8 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 363.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 363 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,085,838 people with the surname Rodriguez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,245,159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 363.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 363.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 363 of them to have the surname Rodriguez.
Has Rodriguez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rodriguez went from 1,094,924 recorded bearers to 1,085,838. That is a decrease of 9,086 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #9 to #8.
What does the Census say about the background of Rodriguez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodriguez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Rodriguez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,010,137 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rodriguez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.0%), White (5.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Rodriguez (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 Rodriguez mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Rodrigo," a Spanish given name derived from the Germanic name Roderick. 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 Rodriguez (363.28 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 are called Rodriguez?
Find out how many people are called Rodriguez on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.