Flores Surname

Meaning and origin of the surname Flores

Patronymic surname derived from the given name Floro (from Latin flos, floris, meaning 'flower'), meaning 'son of Floro' or 'descendant of the blooming one'.

Historically and linguistically, Flores belongs to the Spanish family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "FLOR-es".

United States Census frequency and ranking

In the official 2010 United States Census, Flores was recorded 433,969 times, ranking as the 40th most common surname in the nation.

This represents an incidence rate of approximately 147.12 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 680 residents.

Race and ethnicity distribution

According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Floresreported the following racial and ethnic affiliations in the 2010 US Census:

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Surnames Data. Percentages may not sum to exactly 100% due to independent rounding or suppression of small cell counts for privacy protection.

History of the surname Flores

Flores is a patronymic surname formed with the Spanish patronymic suffix -es, signifying 'son of Floro' or 'son of Fruela'. The personal name Fruela or Froila was originally of Visigothic Germanic origin (derived from frois, meaning 'lord' or 'master'), which merged through medieval Iberian folk etymology with the Latin noun flos, floris ('flower').

The surname was first documented in northern Spain in the ancient kingdoms of Asturias, Castile, and Galicia during the early Reconquista. Prominent Flores family branches established noble seats in Valladolid, Seville, and Extremadura before emigrating to the Americas throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, settling heavily throughout Mexico, Peru, and Central America.

Flores is today one of the most prominent Hispanic surnames in the United States, heavily concentrated in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, and New York. In the 2010 US Census, Flores ranked 40th nationwide with 433,969 recorded bearers (147.12 per 100,000 Americans).

Notable people with the surname Flores

• Tom Flores (1937–), American NFL head coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Wilmer Flores (1991–), Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
• Brian Flores (1981–), American NFL football coach
• Lola Flores (1923–1995), Spanish flamenco singer, dancer, and actress