Torrez last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Torrez

A Spanish-derived surname referring to a person living near a tower or coming from a place called Torres.

Torrez, 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 Torrez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Torrez in America

Torrez is the 2160th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Torrez surname appeared 16,795 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Torrez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Torrez 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 2160 2236 -3.46%
Count 16,795 14,904 11.93%
Proportion per 100k 5.69 5.52 3.03%

The history of the last name Torrez

The surname Torrez originated in Spain, and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "torre," which means "tower" in English. This name was likely given to someone who lived near a prominent tower or fortress.

In the early records, the name was often spelled as "Torres" or "Torrs." One of the earliest known references to this surname can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a 13th-century document that listed landowners and their properties in the Castilian region of Spain.

One notable individual with the surname Torrez was Gonzalo Fernández de Torrez, a Spanish nobleman and military leader who lived in the 14th century. He played a significant role in the Reconquista, the Christian campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

In the 15th century, Juan de Torrez, a Spanish explorer, accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He later became one of the first European settlers in the Caribbean region.

Another prominent figure was Diego de Torrez y Villarroel, a Spanish writer and mathematician who lived from 1693 to 1770. He was known for his satirical works and contributions to the field of mathematics.

In the 19th century, Rafael Torrez Campos, a Venezuelan military leader and politician, played a crucial role in the country's struggle for independence from Spain. He was born in 1786 and died in 1851.

The surname Torrez can also be found in various place names across Spain, such as Torres del Río, Torres de Berrellén, and Torres de Albánchez, among others. These place names often indicate areas where the name was prevalent or where people with the surname Torrez had settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Torrez

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

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 Torrez was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 8.18% 1,374
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.47% 79
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.14% 24
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 72
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.38% 64
Hispanic Origin 90.40% 15,183

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 8.18% 7.69% 6.18%
Black 0.47% 0.45% 4.35%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.14% 0.24% -52.63%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 0.83% -63.49%
Two or More Races 0.38% 0.45% -16.87%
Hispanic 90.40% 90.34% 0.07%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Torrez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/torrez-surname-popularity/.

"Torrez last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/torrez-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 October, 2024

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

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