Most Common Last Names in New Mexico

Top 3 — New Mexico

#2 spanish

Garcia

Patronymic

24,611 people

1 in every 88 New Mexico residents

A Spanish surname of Basque origin, often treated as a patronymic from an old personal name. Garcia runs through New Mexico from early colonial records to modern Albuquerque and Las Cruces, which is why it sits near the top statewide.

#1 spanish

Martinez

Patronymic

28,106 people

1 in every 77 New Mexico residents

Son of Martin, from the Latin Martinus. Martinez is New Mexico's leading surname because colonial settlement along the Rio Grande planted the name early and kept it dense in long-settled Hispano communities.

#3 spanish

Chavez

Habitational

18,623 people

1 in every 116 New Mexico residents

A place-name surname linked to Chaves in Portugal. In New Mexico it is one of the signature Hispano surnames, preserved across centuries of settlement from the upper Rio Grande to the southern borderlands.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

El Camino Real and the Return After 1692

Spanish colonists moved into New Mexico along El Camino Real after 1598, and Santa Fe was established in 1610 as the colonial capital. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 broke that first regime, but the return waves of 1693 to 1695 re-planted surnames such as Baca, Montoya, Trujillo, Vigil, and Lucero in Rio Grande settlements. After the railroad and American territorial era, Smith, Johnson, Brown, and Williams rose into the top 20 without displacing the older Hispano core.

Did you know? Baca ranks 13th in New Mexico but only 1,502nd nationally in Forebears' U.S. table, and 30.27 percent of all U.S. Bacas live in New Mexico.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in New Mexico

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Martinez spanish

28,106

1 in 77

Garcia spanish

24,611

1 in 88

Chavez spanish

18,623

1 in 116

Sanchez spanish

15,156

1 in 143

Son of Sancho, from a medieval Iberian given name. Sanchez appears in the earliest colonial layers of New Mexico and remains common in both old village networks and newer urban populations.

Gonzales spanish

14,580

1 in 149

Son of Gonzalo, from the Visigothic Gundisalvus. The Gonzales spelling outranks Gonzalez in New Mexico, a pattern often seen in older Hispano records across the Southwest.

Smith english

14,551

1 in 149

From Old English 'smið', a metalworker. Smith rose with American rule after 1848, then spread further through railroad towns, military posts, and Albuquerque's twentieth-century growth.

Romero spanish

14,273

1 in 152

Originally a pilgrim to Rome, from Spanish 'romero.' Romero is one of New Mexico's old Catholic surnames, visible in colonial church and land records before the American period.

Lopez spanish

12,465

1 in 174

Son of Lope, from the Latin Lupus, wolf. Lopez remained strong in New Mexico because it belongs to both the early colonial population and later Mexican American migration streams.

Montoya basque

12,327

1 in 176

A Basque place-name surname. Bartolomé de Montoya appears in the 1600 settlement wave into New Mexico, which helps explain why the name is far more concentrated here than in most states.

#10

Trujillo spanish

11,228

1 in 193

A place-name surname from Trujillo in Extremadura. New Mexico records place Trujillo in the colony by 1632, and the name stayed rooted through the resettlement waves of the 1690s.

#11

Lucero spanish

10,061

1 in 215

Spanish for a bright star or morning star. Lucero de Godoy is recorded in New Mexico by 1616, and the name still marks the landscape at Los Luceros on the Rio Grande.

#12

Johnson english

9,321

1 in 232

Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan', God is gracious. Johnson reflects the later American layer of New Mexico history, especially after territorial administration and modern urban growth.

#13

Baca spanish

9,043

1 in 239

A Spanish surname of uncertain origin in Iberian records. In New Mexico it is one of the oldest documented colonial family names, carried north by Captain Cristóbal Baca in 1600.

#14

Gallegos spanish

8,736

1 in 248

A surname meaning a person from Galicia. Gallegos was present in colonial New Mexico by 1677, and surviving genealogical records show it marrying into the Baca family before the end of the Spanish period.

#15

Rodriguez spanish

8,515

1 in 254

Son of Rodrigo, from the Germanic Roderick. Rodriguez is common across the Spanish-speaking world, and in New Mexico it reflects both older Hispano settlement and later cross-border migration.

#16

Vigil spanish

8,248

1 in 263

From Latin 'vigil', watchful or watchman. Vigil appears directly in the 1695 resettlement wave into New Mexico and remains one of the state's most distinctively northern Rio Grande surnames.

#17

Brown english

8,147

1 in 266

From Old English 'brun', referring to brown hair, clothing, or complexion. Brown climbed in New Mexico through the same American-era migration that lifted Smith and Johnson.

#18

Hernandez spanish

7,644

1 in 283

Son of Hernando or Fernando, from a Germanic personal name. Hernandez is widespread in the Southwest, but New Mexico keeps it especially visible because both colonial and modern Hispanic populations reinforce it.

#19

Padilla spanish

7,604

1 in 285

A Castilian place-name surname. Padilla Villaseñor appears in New Mexico records by 1688, placing the name in the colony before the reconquest was fully stabilized.

#20

Williams welsh

7,170

1 in 302

Son of William, from the Germanic Willahelm. Williams reflects the English-speaking migration that expanded under U.S. territorial rule and remained strong in modern Albuquerque and southeastern New Mexico.

Local Insight

Uniquely New Mexico

These family names rank far higher in New Mexico than nationally — a direct fingerprint of the state's specific immigration waves.

Baca spanish

Ranked #13 in New Mexico versus #1502 nationally. That is 1489 spots higher here.

Baca is one of New Mexico's defining colonial surnames. Captain Cristóbal Baca arrived in the 1600 settlement wave, and Forebears shows that 30.27 percent of all U.S. Bacas still live in New Mexico.

Lucero spanish

Ranked #11 in New Mexico versus #1048 nationally. That is 1037 spots higher here.

Lucero is deeply tied to northern New Mexico family history. The surname appears in the colony by 1616, and Los Luceros Historic Site preserves the name in one of the state's best-known Rio Grande properties.

Vigil spanish

Ranked #16 in New Mexico versus #1329 nationally. That is 1313 spots higher here.

Vigil entered New Mexico in the 1695 resettlement wave after the Pueblo Revolt. Its statewide rank remains strikingly high because the name stayed concentrated in long-settled Hispano communities instead of dispersing evenly across the country.

Montoya basque

Ranked #9 in New Mexico versus #585 nationally. That is 576 spots higher here.

Montoya is unusually New Mexican because it reaches back to Bartolomé de Montoya in the 1600 wave of settlers. Forebears shows 17.51 percent of all U.S. Montoyas live in New Mexico, far above what the state's population alone would predict.

Archuleta basque

Ranked #39 in New Mexico versus #2783 nationally. That is 2744 spots higher here.

Archuleta traces to the 1598 Oñate expedition, where the surname appears among the first colonizing families. That early foothold helped keep Archuleta far more visible in New Mexico than in most of the United States.

Etymology

New Mexico Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Spanish Patronymics

Spanish patronymics dominate New Mexico's upper ranks. Martinez, Sanchez, Gonzales, Lopez, Rodriguez, and Hernandez all derive from fathers' given names, and their strength reflects how deeply Spanish colonial and later Mexican naming patterns shaped the state.

Martinez (son of Martin) Sanchez (son of Sancho) Lopez (son of Lope) Rodriguez (son of Rodrigo)

Colonial Family Names

New Mexico has an unusually strong layer of surnames tied to specific colonial settlement waves. Baca, Montoya, Trujillo, Vigil, and Archuleta appear in early migration records tied to 1598, 1600, or the 1693 to 1695 return after the Pueblo Revolt.

Baca (colonial family name) Montoya (Basque place-name surname) Trujillo (from Trujillo) Vigil (watchman)

Later Anglo Names

Smith, Johnson, Brown, and Williams represent the later American layer that arrived after 1848 and grew with railroads, military posts, mining, and Albuquerque's expansion. They are common, but they do not erase the older Hispano signature that defines New Mexico's list.

Smith (metalworker) Johnson (son of John) Brown (brown-haired or brown-clad) Williams (son of William)

Quick Answers

Why are Spanish last names so common in New Mexico?

Spanish last names are so common in New Mexico because Spanish colonists established permanent settlements after 1598, Santa Fe became the colonial capital in 1610, and many families returned again in the 1690s after the Pueblo Revolt. Those older family lines stayed visible even after the American territorial period brought in more English surnames.

Why is Baca so associated with New Mexico?

Baca is strongly associated with New Mexico because it belongs to one of the colony's oldest documented family lines and stayed concentrated in the state for centuries. Forebears shows nearly a third of all U.S. residents named Baca live in New Mexico.

Sources

Forebears - Most Common Surnames in New Mexico — Primary source for statewide surname rankings, counts, frequency ratios, and national-rank comparisons
U.S. Census Bureau - QuickFacts: New Mexico — 2010 New Mexico population used for the statewide demographic field
New Mexico Historic Sites - El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro — State history source for the 1598 establishment of El Camino Real and the colonial settlement corridor into New Mexico
New Mexico History Museum - The Palace of the Governors — Source for Santa Fe's 1610 colonial-era built environment and the major political eras that shaped New Mexico
El Camino Real De Tierra Adentro: Five Waves of Settlers from 1598 - 1800 — Genealogical summary of early New Mexico settlement waves and the appearance of surnames such as Baca, Montoya, Lucero, Trujillo, and Vigil
New Mexico Historic Sites - Los Luceros: The Family Behind the Name — Background on the Lucero family's long historical presence in New Mexico

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Martinez
People named #1: 28,106
1 in every: 77 residents
Top origin: Spanish
State population: 2,059,179
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in New Mexico

El Camino Real and the Return After 1692

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in New Mexico

Uniquely New Mexico