2000
#147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 157,475
First available Census row
Per 100,000 58.38
Common Last name
Jimenez
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Jimeno" or "son of Ximeno," derived from the Basque name Semen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 258,841 Americans carry the last name Jimenez. That puts it at #98 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 75.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jimenez 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 Jimenez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
259K
1 in 1,324
Census rank
#98
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
75.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
226K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 225,722 bearers of the surname Jimenez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 75.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 98th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jimenez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jimenez
The surname Jimenez is of Spanish origin, derived from the given name Jimeno, which is itself a medieval Spanish variant of the Roman name Sempronius. The name likely emerged during the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors between the 8th and 15th centuries.
Jimenez was a prominent name among the nobility and military leaders during this period, with early records showing it concentrated in the regions of Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. The earliest documented instance of the name dates back to the 10th century, found in a charter from the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja.
One of the most notable historical figures with this surname was Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, a 13th-century Spanish historian, politician, and prelate who served as Archbishop of Toledo from 1209 until his death in 1247. His chronicle, "De Rebus Hispaniae" (On the Affairs of Spain), is a valuable source for the history of medieval Spain.
Another prominent individual was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, a Spanish conquistador and explorer, born in 1495 in Granada. He led the Spanish conquest of the Muisca Confederation in present-day Colombia, founding the city of Santa Fe de Bogotá in 1538.
Juan Ramón Jiménez, a renowned Spanish poet and scholar, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956 for his "lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistic purity." He was born in 1881 in Moguer, Andalusia, and died in 1958.
In the realm of art, Juan de Jiménez is remembered as a 16th-century Spanish painter active in Toledo and Madrid. His most notable work is the altarpiece in the church of San Román in Toledo, completed in 1568.
Another notable figure was Miguel Jiménez de la Espada, a Spanish naturalist, explorer, and writer, born in 1831 in Pamplona. He led scientific expeditions to the Pacific and published several works on the flora and fauna of the Americas.
The surname Jimenez has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Jiménez de Jamuz in the province of León, and Jiménez de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz, reflecting the widespread presence of this surname throughout the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jimenez
Among Census respondents with the surname Jimenez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Jimenez 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 Jimenez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.1% · 210,135
- White4.2% · 9,591
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 3,700
- Black or African American0.4% · 952
- Two or more races0.4% · 797
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 547
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jimenez
Jimenez 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
#100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 227,118
+69,643 bearers (+44.2%)
Per 100,000 76.99
Rank movement Up 47 places
2020
#98
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 225,722
-1,396 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 75.52
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147 | 157,475 | 58.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #100 | 227,118 | 76.99 | +69,643 bearers (+44.2%) | Up 47 places |
| 2020 | #98 | 225,722 | 75.52 | -1,396 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 2 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 Jimenez 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 | #100 | #98 | 2.0% |
| Count | 227,118 | 225,722 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 76.99 | 75.52 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jimenez bearers went from 227,118 to 225,722 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #100 to #98.
FAQ
Jimenez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jimenez?
Name Census estimates that about 258,841 living Americans carry the surname Jimenez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,324 residents.
How common is Jimenez?
Jimenez ranks #98 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 75.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 76 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 225,722 people with the surname Jimenez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (258,841), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 75.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 75.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 76 of them to have the surname Jimenez.
Has Jimenez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jimenez went from 227,118 recorded bearers to 225,722. That is a decrease of 1,396 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #100 to #98.
What does the Census say about the background of Jimenez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jimenez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Jimenez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (210,135 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jimenez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.1%), White (4.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Jimenez (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 Jimenez mean?
A Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Jimeno" or "son of Ximeno," derived from the Basque name Semen. 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 Jimenez (75.52 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 surname Jimenez?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.