González is a Spanish surname. In Spain, González is the second most common surname with 2.08% of the population having this surname. González is also a common surname in Latin America. It is one of the five most common surnames in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela, making it one of the most common surnames in the Spanish-speaking world. In the United States, González ranked as the 13th most common surname in 2017.

Variant spellings include Gonzales.

Origin González is of Spanish origin, deriving from the Visigothic / ancient Germanic term for a castle, "gunþo(guntho)-salaz" meaning "war hall", as evidenced by the castle on its family crest and the Visigothic cultural origins of the nation of Spain. It is also taken to mean "son of Gonzalo", a name deriving from the Germanic "Gunther". Common spelling variations include: Gonzales, Gonzáles, Gonzalés, and Gonzalez (without an acute accent). The variant Consolus appears among people descended from a Spaniard with the surname Gonsález who settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 31.8% of all known bearers of the surname González were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:44), 10.8% of Spain (1:49), 10.0% of Venezuela (1:34), 7.4% of Argentina (1:66), 7.1% of the United States (1:584), 6.7% of Colombia (1:81), 5.1% of Cuba (1:26), 4.2% of Chile (1:48), 3.1% of Paraguay (1:27), 2.7% of Guatemala (1:68), 1.7% of Panama (1:27), 1.7% of Nicaragua (1:42), 1.4% of the Dominican Republic (1:85), 1.1% of El Salvador (1:67) and 1.1% of Ecuador (1:171).