Jimenez Surname

Meaning and origin of the surname Jimenez

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Jimeno', derived from the medieval Basque or Pyrenean personal name Ximeno (from Basque seme, 'son', or a variant of Hebrew Simon, 'he who hears').

Historically and linguistically, Jimenez belongs to the Spanish and Basque family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "hee-MEN-ez".

United States Census frequency and ranking

In the official 2010 United States Census, Jimenez was recorded 227,118 times, ranking as the 100th most common surname in the nation.

This represents an incidence rate of approximately 76.99 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 1,299 residents.

Race and ethnicity distribution

According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Jimenezreported 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 Jimenez

Jimenez (traditionally accented as Jiménez or Ximénez in Spanish) is a venerable Iberian patronymic surname signifying 'son of Jimeno'. The root baptismal name Jimeno (archaic Ximeno) traces back to ancient Pyrenean and Basque onomastics, derived from the Basque noun seme (meaning 'son'), or alternatively as a regional Romance adaptation of the biblical Hebrew personal name Shimon (Simon, signifying 'he has heard' or 'obedient'). The terminal -ez suffix indicates patronymic filial descent.

The name was borne by one of the earliest sovereign dynasties of Christian Iberia: the Jimena (Ximena) dynasty, which ruled the Kingdom of Navarre, the Kingdom of León, and the Kingdom of Castile from the tenth through twelfth centuries, notably under King Sancho III the Great (reigned 1004–1035). Historical documentation also commemorates Jimena Díaz, noble wife of Castilian military hero El Cid Campeador. Following the Reconquista, Jimenez lineages flourished across Andalusia, Aragon, and Extremadura, later participating extensively in the administrative expansion of the Spanish Empire.

Jimenez established deep roots throughout Spanish colonial North America from the sixteenth century onward, particularly across central Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and the American Southwest. In the 2010 United States Census, Jimenez achieved a historic milestone as the 100th most common surname nationwide with 227,118 recorded bearers, demonstrating intense demographic concentration in California, Texas, Florida, and New York, with nearly 94 percent identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

Notable people with the surname Jimenez

• Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958), Spanish poet and 1956 Nobel laureate in Literature
• Raúl Jiménez (1991–), Mexican professional footballer for Fulham and Mexico national team
• Eloy Jiménez (1996–), Dominican Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder
• Flaco Jiménez (1939–), American Tejano and Conjunto accordionist and five-time Grammy Award winner