Meaning, Origin & Family History (2024)

The meaning of Gonzalez

Spanish (González): patronymic from the personal name Gonzalo. Compare De Gonzalez, Gonsales, Gunsalus, and Portuguese Goncalves. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Juan, Carlos, Luis, Manuel, Jesus, Jorge, Pedro, Francisco, Miguel, Ramon, Raul, Mario.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Gonzalez in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the Gonzalez surname has significantly increased in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Gonzalez ranked as the 23rd most common surname with a count of 597,718 individuals. By 2010, the Gonzalez surname had jumped to the 13th position, with an impressive 43.48% increase in ranking. The number of people bearing the Gonzalez surname also rose by 40.71% during this decade, from 597,718 to 841,025 individuals. This surge resulted in an expansion of the proportion per 100,000 people from 221.57 to 285.11, indicating a growth of 28.68%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#23	#13	43.48%
Count	597,718	841,025	40.71%
Proportion per 100k	221.57	285.11	28.68%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gonzalez

The ethnic identities associated with the Gonzalez surname have also evolved slightly over this ten-year period, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. While the Hispanic ethnicity remains dominant among those with the Gonzalez surname, growing from 93.99% in 2000 to 94.97% in 2010, there were minor fluctuations across other ethnicities. Individuals who identified themselves as White decreased from 4.76% to 4.03%, a -15.34% change. Similarly, those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native dropped by 22.22%, from 0.18% to 0.14%. Notably, the percentage of those of Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity remained constant at 0.38%, while the identity of "two or more races" saw a significant reduction of 60.61%, from 0.33% to 0.13%.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	93.99%	94.97%	1.04%
White	4.76%	4.03%	-15.34%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.38%	0.38%	0%
Black	0.37%	0.35%	-5.41%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.18%	0.14%	-22.22%
Two or More Races	0.33%	0.13%	-60.61%

Gonzalez ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Gonzalez is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 47.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (25.7%) and British & Irish (7.4%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Italian, Senegambian & Guinean, Angolan & Congolese, and Nigerian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN	COMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese	47.6%
Indigenous American	25.7%
British & Irish	7.4%
Other	19.3%

Possible origins of the surname Gonzalez

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Gonzalez have recent ancestry locations all within Mexico.

RECENT ANCESTRY Location	Percentage
Zacatecas, Mexico	51.80%
Veracruz, Mexico	51.80%
Nuevo Leon, Mexico	51.80%
Michoacan, Mexico	51.80%
Mexico City, Mexico	51.80%

What Gonzalez haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Gonzalez is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include Q-M3 and E-M183, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Torres, Rodriguez, Perez, Diaz, Ruiz, Gomez, Sanchez, Garcia, Soto, Silva.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Gonzalez surname are: A2, B2, D1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to some of the first Americans

Though the Ice Age was beginning to retreat when your A2 ancestors first entered North America, there were still massive barriers blocking their way. Glaciers and inhospitable climate covered much of the continent, blocking entry into the interior. Nonetheless, researchers have found evidence that a wave of American founders migrated over 13,000 kilometers to reach southern Chile in only 2,000 years, a blink of an eye in the story of human migration! Their highway to the south was the coast of the Pacific, stocked with fish, diverse marine mammals, and other valuable resources in the rich kelp forests of the upper latitudes and in the abundant fresh-water rivers near the equator. Because of this rapid movement south, the A2 haplogroup and its diverse branches are found throughout North and South America.

What do people with the surname Gonzalez have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Gonzalez" Surname 37.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Vanilla Ice Cream

Prefers vanilla flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Gonzalez" Surname 36.1%

23andMe Users 36.7%

Like Very Cold Weather

Enjoys weather that is colder than 40 degrees Farenheit

"Gonzalez" Surname 31.3%

23andMe Users 24.8%

Likes Sweets

Enjoys eating sweets more than other people.

"Gonzalez" Surname 36.7%

23andMe Users 33.8%

Stawberry Ice Cream

Prefers strawberry flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Gonzalez" Surname 19.1%

23andMe Users 14.7%

Likes Hoppy Beer

Like beer that has a strong hop flavor and aroma.

"Gonzalez" Surname 18.2%

23andMe Users 20.0%

Likes Boiled Eggs

Likes the taste of hard-boiled eggs.

"Gonzalez" Surname 66.7%

23andMe Users 70.2%

Vegetarian

Abstains from consuming meat, fish, and poultry, and typically follows a plant-based diet.

"Gonzalez" Surname 2.8%

23andMe Users 3.6%

Vegan

Abstains from consuming any animal products or by-products, including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.

"Gonzalez" Surname 1.7%

23andMe Users 1.8%