Ramirez last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ramirez

An occupational surname from Spanish meaning "traveler on the Way of St. James".

Ramirez, 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 Ramirez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ramirez in America

Ramirez is the 75069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ramirez surname appeared 257 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 Ramirez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ramirez 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 75069 64750 14.76%
Count 257 287 -11.03%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.11 -20.00%

The history of the last name Ramirez

The surname ROMIREZ is of Spanish origin, with roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish personal name "Romiro," a variant of the Germanic name "Rodmiro" or "Rodemir." This name is composed of the elements "hrod" (meaning fame or glory) and "meri" (meaning famous or renowned).

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ROMIREZ name can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain, dating back to the 10th century. In these documents, the name appears as "Rodericus Romirez," suggesting its use as a patronymic surname, indicating descent from an ancestor named Romiro.

The ROMIREZ name has a strong association with the region of Navarra in northern Spain. Historical records from the 12th century mention prominent figures bearing this surname, such as García Romirez, a nobleman who served as the King of Navarre from 1134 to 1150.

In the 13th century, the ROMIREZ name gained prominence in the Kingdom of Castile. One notable figure was Pedro Romirez, a military commander and conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century. Another prominent individual was Juan Romirez de Velasco (1585-1647), a Spanish poet and playwright known for his works in the Baroque literary style.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas, the ROMIREZ name was carried by settlers and colonists to the New World. In the 16th century, Alonso Romirez de Aguilar (1510-1588) was a Spanish conquistador who played a significant role in the conquest of Guatemala and participated in the expeditions of Pedro de Alvarado.

In the realm of arts and culture, the ROMIREZ name has been associated with notable figures such as José Romirez Toro (1857-1920), a Venezuelan painter and sculptor renowned for his works depicting indigenous and rural themes. Additionally, Manuel Romirez Rossi (1864-1935) was an influential Mexican composer and conductor who contributed significantly to the development of Mexican classical music.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ramirez

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

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 Ramirez was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 1.95% 5
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 96.11% 247

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 Ramirez has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 1.95% 3.48% -56.35%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 96.11% 95.12% 1.04%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Ramirez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/romirez-surname-popularity/.

"Ramirez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/romirez-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 November, 2024

Ramirez last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/romirez-surname-popularity/.

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