2000
#110
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 193,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 71.89
Common Last name
Gonzales
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Gonzalo," a Spanish given name derived from the Visigothic word meaning "battle."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 238,083 Americans carry the last name Gonzales. That puts it at #114 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 69.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,440 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gonzales surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gonzales with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
238K
1 in 1,440
Census rank
#114
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
69.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
208K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 207,620 bearers of the surname Gonzales in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 69.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 114th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonzales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gonzales
The surname Gonzales is Spanish in origin, derived from the personal name Gonzalo, which in turn is derived from the ancient Germanic name Gundisalvus. The name is composed of two parts: "gund" meaning "battle" and "salvus" meaning "safe" or "protection."
The earliest recorded use of the surname Gonzales can be traced back to the 9th century in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in the Basque Country and Navarre. It is believed that the name originated as a patronymic, meaning "son of Gonzalo," and was later adopted as a hereditary surname.
The Gonzales surname has a rich history, with several notable individuals bearing this name throughout the centuries. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Becerro Galicano, a 13th-century manuscript that records the noble families of Galicia, Spain.
In the 15th century, Juan Gonzales de Mendoza (1428-1495) was an influential Spanish cardinal and statesman who served as the Archbishop of Seville and played a crucial role in the Spanish Inquisition. Another notable figure was Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), the Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico.
The Gonzales surname also has a strong presence in the New World, with many individuals bearing this name contributing to the exploration and settlement of the Americas. One such individual was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (1495-1579), a Spanish explorer and conquistador who founded the city of Bogotá, Colombia, in 1538.
In the literary world, Tomás Gonzales de Santalla (1624-1682) was a Spanish playwright and poet who wrote numerous plays and poems during the Golden Age of Spanish literature. More recently, José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), a Cuban novelist, poet, and essayist, is considered one of the most influential figures in Latin American literature of the 20th century.
The Gonzales surname has also been prominent in various fields, including politics, sports, and entertainment. For example, Henry B. Gonzales (1916-1998) was a prominent American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas for nearly four decades.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gonzales
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonzales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gonzales bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Gonzales surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.6% · 171,554
- White10.0% · 20,685
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 9,544
- Black or African American1.0% · 2,166
- Two or more races0.9% · 1,928
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,743
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gonzales
Gonzales appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 214,758
+20,824 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 72.80
Rank movement Down 1 places
2020
#114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 207,620
-7,138 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 69.46
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #110 | 193,934 | 71.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #111 | 214,758 | 72.80 | +20,824 bearers (+10.7%) | Down 1 places |
| 2020 | #114 | 207,620 | 69.46 | -7,138 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 3 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Gonzales surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #111 | #114 | -2.7% |
| Count | 214,758 | 207,620 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 72.80 | 69.46 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gonzales bearers went from 214,758 to 207,620 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #111 to #114.
FAQ
Gonzales surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gonzales?
Name Census estimates that about 238,083 living Americans carry the surname Gonzales. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,440 residents.
How common is Gonzales?
Gonzales ranks #114 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 69.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 69 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 207,620 people with the surname Gonzales. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (238,083), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 69.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 69.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 69 of them to have the surname Gonzales.
Has Gonzales become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gonzales went from 214,758 recorded bearers to 207,620. That is a decrease of 7,138 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #111 to #114.
What does the Census say about the background of Gonzales?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonzales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gonzales in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (171,554 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gonzales appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (82.6%), White (10.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Gonzales (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Gonzales mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Gonzalo," a Spanish given name derived from the Visigothic word meaning "battle." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Gonzales (69.46 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Gonzales?
If you just want to know how common the surname Gonzales is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.