Hernandez is a widespread Spanish surname that became common around the 15th century. Originally a patronymic, it means son of Hernando, Hernando or Fernando being the Spanish version of Germanic Ferdinand. FERNANDEZ is a very common variant of the name. Hernandes and Fernandes are their Portuguese equivalents.

The fact that the Hernández family of Spain bears a version of the French royal arms leads many to speculate that they descend from the French royal house of Valois.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 52.9% of all known bearers of the surname Hernández were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:25), 7.7% of the United States (1:510), 6.3% of Colombia (1:83), 5.8% of Venezuela (1:57), 4.1% of Cuba (1:30), 4.0% of Spain (1:125), 4.0% of Guatemala (1:44), 2.9% of Honduras (1:33), 2.7% of El Salvador (1:26), 1.5% of Nicaragua (1:43), 1.5% of the Philippines (1:746), 1.2% of the Dominican Republic (1:92) and 1.2% of Chile (1:158).