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

Romero, 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 Romero surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Romero in America

Romero is the 115th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Romero surname appeared 208,614 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 71 people would have the surname Romero.

We can also compare 2010 data for Romero 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 Romero

The surname Romero is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "romarius," meaning a pilgrim to Rome. It dates back to the Middle Ages when many Spaniards undertook pilgrimages to Rome, and those who made the journey were called "romeros."

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th century in regions of Spain such as Castile, Andalusia, and Aragon. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sancho Romero, a nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the late 12th century.

The Romero name is also associated with several place names in Spain, such as Romero de Torres in Badajoz, and Romero de Arriba in Soria. These places likely derived their names from early settlers with the surname Romero.

In the 15th century, the Romero family gained prominence in Seville, where they were involved in the Spanish Inquisition. One notable figure was Fray Tomás de Romero, a Dominican friar who served as an Inquisitor in Seville from 1498 to 1528.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Juan Romero, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Romero played a crucial role in the Battle of Otumba in 1520, helping to ensure the Spanish victory.

In the 17th century, the Romero name appeared in various literary works, such as the plays of Lope de Vega and the poetry of Francisco de Quevedo. One notable figure from this period was Jerónimo Romero de Ávila, a Spanish painter and engraver active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

In the 19th century, the Romero name gained further recognition with the birth of Matías Romero (1837-1898), a Mexican diplomat and politician who served as Mexico's Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs.

Throughout history, the Romero surname has been carried by numerous other notable individuals, including César Romero (1907-1994), an American actor best known for his portrayal of the Joker in the 1960s Batman TV series, and Cesar Romero (1907-1994), a Cuban-American singer and actor.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Romero

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Romero, 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!