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 1572nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rodríguez surname appeared 22,892 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 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 is of Spanish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "Rodrigo", which in turn comes from the Germanic name "Roderick" meaning "famous power". The name was initially found in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in the areas of Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rodriguez can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a medieval census document from the 14th century. This document lists several individuals with the surname, including Gonzalo Rodriguez and Sancho Rodriguez, who were landowners in the region of Castile.

In the 15th century, the surname Rodriguez gained prominence with the birth of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid Campeador (c. 1043-1099), a celebrated Castilian knight and military leader. His exploits were immortalized in the epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid", which helped to solidify the name's association with bravery and heroism.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (c. 1499-1543), a Portuguese-born explorer who sailed for Spain and is credited with the first European exploration of the coast of present-day California in 1542.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the surname Rodriguez was carried across the Atlantic and became widespread in Latin American countries. One of the most famous figures with this name was Simón Rodríguez (1769-1854), a Venezuelan philosopher, educator, and mentor to the revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar.

In the realm of art, the Spanish painter Joaquín Rodríguez (1895-1971) was a prominent figure in the early 20th century, known for his Cubist-inspired works and his role in the avant-garde movement.

Another notable individual with the surname is Richard Rodriguez (born 1944), an American writer and public intellectual who has explored issues of identity, ethnicity, and cultural assimilation in his works, such as "Hunger of Memory" and "Brown: The Last Discovery of America".

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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