Hernández is a widespread Spanish patronymic surname that became common around the 15th century. It means son of Hernán, Hernando, or Fernando, the Spanish version of the Germanic Ferdinand. Fernández is also a 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).

In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:125) in the following autonomous communities:

• 1. Canary Islands (1:24)
• 2. Region of Murcia (1:66)
• 3. Castile and León (1:67)
• 4. Extremadura (1:100)

In Mexico, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:25) in the following states:^[1]

• 1. Hidalgo (1:10)
• 2. San Luis Potosí (1:15)
• 3. Tabasco (1:16)
• 4. Veracruz (1:16)
• 5. Chiapas (1:16)
• 6. Tlaxcala (1:17)
• 7. Querétaro (1:22)
• 8. Oaxaca (1:22)
• 9. Tamaulipas (1:23)
• 10. Puebla (1:23)
• 11. State of Mexico (1:25)

People with the name Hernández

Places

• Garcia Hernandez, town in Bohol province of the Philippines
• Hernandez Houses, New York
• Hernandez, New Mexico
• Hernandez Reservoir, California
• Hernández–Capron Trail, Florida
• Maria Hernandez Park, New York
• Rafael Hernández Airport, Puerto Rico
• Gaspar Hernández, Dominican Republic

Legal cases

• Hernandez v. Texas (1954 in the Supreme Court of the United States, on civil rights for Mexican Americans)
• People v. Hernandez (1956 in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, on the crime of rebellion)
• United States v. Montoya De Hernandez (1985 in the Supreme Court of the United States, on detention and border searches relating to drug smuggling)
• Hernandez v. Commissioner (1989 in the Supreme Court of the United States, on whether fees for training programs operated by charities can be deducted as charitable contributions)
• Hernandez v. New York (1991 in the Supreme Court of the United States, on the removal of jurors from cases on the basis of their ability to understand Spanish testimony)
• Hernandez v. Robles (2006 in the New York Court of Appeals, on whether the prohibition of same-sex marriage is a violation of civil rights)
• Hernandez v. Mesa (2017 in the U.S. Supreme Court, argued again in 2019, on civil liability for a border patrol agent acting in a border zone)

Sciences

• 19079 Hernández, a main belt asteroid

Other

• Hernández-Camacho's night monkey, South American primate

See also

Look up Hernández in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Elizabeth Hernandez (disambiguation)
• Fernández
• Hernandes
• Fernandes

References