Sanz last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sanz

A surname of Spanish origin meaning "holy", "saintly", or "good".

Sanz, 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 Sanz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sanz in America

Sanz is the 15777th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sanz surname appeared 1,847 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sanz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sanz 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 15777 17203 -8.65%
Count 1,847 1,518 19.55%
Proportion per 100k 0.63 0.56 11.76%

The history of the last name Sanz

The surname "Sanz" is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish given name "Sancho", which itself comes from the Latin name "Sanctius", meaning "holy" or "saintly". The name was first recorded in the 9th century in the Kingdom of Navarre, located in the northern region of the Iberian Peninsula.

The earliest known bearer of the name was Sancho Garcés I, King of Navarre from 905 to 925 AD. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Navarre, Aragon, and Castile during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by its appearance in various historical documents and records from that time.

In the 11th century, the Sanz surname is mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript containing the first recorded accounts of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, known as the Camino de Santiago. The surname is also found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century manuscript that documented the ownership of land and property in Castile.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Sanz was Pedro Sanz de Vizmanos, a nobleman and military commander who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a pivotal victory for the Christian forces against the Almohads.

Another notable bearer of the name was Rodrigo Sanz de Viteri, a 13th-century Spanish prelate who served as the Archbishop of Toledo from 1209 to 1224. He played a significant role in the consolidation of the Reconquista and the expansion of Christian rule in the Iberian Peninsula.

In the 15th century, Juan Sanz de Muñón was a prominent Spanish sculptor and architect who worked on several notable projects, including the Cathedral of Burgos and the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo.

During the 16th century, Alonso Sanz, a Spanish painter and engraver, gained recognition for his works, particularly his engravings of religious subjects and portraits. He was active in Madrid and is considered one of the most important Spanish engravers of the Renaissance period.

In the 19th century, Eulogio Florentino Sanz, a Spanish writer and journalist, made significant contributions to the development of the Spanish press and literature. He was born in 1823 and is known for his novels, poetry, and articles on social and political issues of his time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sanz

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

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 Sanz was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 20.09% 371
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.82% 52
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 2.44% 45
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.70% 13
Hispanic Origin 73.96% 1,366

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 20.09% 24.64% -20.34%
Black 2.82% 2.31% 19.88%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.44% 2.17% 11.71%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.70% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 73.96% 69.10% 6.79%

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

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

"Sanz last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sanz-surname-popularity/.

"Sanz last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sanz-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.