Explore the Family Name Cervantes

The meaning of Cervantes

Galician: habitational name from a place in Lugo province named Cervantes. Compare Cervantez, Servantes, and Servantez. History: The most famous bearer of this surname was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (c.1547–1616), the author of Don Quixote. His family was from Córdoba, in Andalusia. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Jesus, Manuel, Francisco, Luis, Raul, Carlos, Miguel, Ramon, Salvador, Jorge. Portuguese Wenceslao, Paulo, Sil.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Cervantes in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Cervantes has noticeably increased from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 520th in terms of prevalence and had a count of 57,685. By 2010, the rank had risen to 387th and the count swelled to 82,161, exhibiting an impressive 42.43% increase. Also, the proportion per 100,000 people grew by 30.26%, from 21.38 in 2000 to 27.85 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#520#38725.58%
Count57,68582,16142.43%
Proportion per 100k21.3827.8530.26%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cervantes

As for ethnic identity associated with the Cervantes surname, data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census highlights several changes from 2000 to 2010. The Hispanic group remains the most prominent, accounting for 94.49% in 2000 and slightly growing to 95.31% by 2010. The second largest group, White, showed a decrease from 3.96% to 3.31%. Notable changes were also seen in the Asian/Pacific Islander and Black groups, where the former experienced a rise from 0.85% to 0.91%, while the latter saw an increase from 0.12% to 0.16%. However, the American Indian and Alaskan Native group decreased from 0.26% to 0.18%, and the group identifying as two or more races dropped significantly from 0.32% to 0.14%.

20002010Change
Hispanic94.49%95.31%0.87%
White3.96%3.31%-16.41%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.85%0.91%7.06%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.26%0.18%-30.77%
Black0.12%0.16%33.33%
Two or More Races0.32%0.14%-56.25%

Cervantes ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Cervantes is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 37.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (36.2%) and British & Irish (9.0%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Senegambian & Guinean, Filipino & Austronesian, Eastern European, and Italian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese37.0%
Indigenous American36.2%
British & Irish9.0%
Other17.7%
Cervantes

Possible origins of the surname Cervantes

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Cervantes have recent ancestry locations all within Mexico.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Sonora, Mexico84.00%
Zacatecas, Mexico84.00%
Tamaulipas, Mexico84.00%
Chihuahua, Mexico84.00%
Coahuila, Mexico84.00%

What Cervantes haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Cervantes is Q-M3, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup Q-M3 is descended from haplogroup Q-M242. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and J-L26, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Espinoza, Aguilar, Martinez, Vasquez, Jimenez, Reyes, Murillo, Lopez, Castillo, Flores.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Cervantes surname are: A2, B2, D1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

cervantesPaternal Haplogroup Origins Q-M242
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to The Ancient One

When two college students stumbled upon a human skull on the banks of the Columbia River, neither the students nor the police who responded to their 911 call could have imagined the archaeological significance of this rare discovery. The skull — along with about 300 other bone fragments found near Kennewick, Washington — belonged to a 9,000 year-old nomad who Native Americans have dubbed "The Ancient One." Based on skeletal clues, The Ancient One (also known as "Kennewick Man") likely swam, wielded a spear, and hunted coastal fauna for the greater part of his lifeInitial craniometric studies suggested he descended from ancient Japanese and Polynesian-like people and had little in common with living Native Americans. This claim — refuted by the Plateau tribes of the Pacific Northwest — became the center of a decades-long legal battle over the provenance of the remains. When The Ancient One's genome was finally sequenced in 2015, the evidence revealed he was genetically most similar to modern-day Native Americans. In fact, local tribes were found to be direct descendants of a population closely related to The Ancient One; in 2017, he finally received a proper Native American burial. This critical discovery helps illustrate a genetic continuity between ancient and modern-day Native Americans. Furthermore, his paternal line belonged to haplogroup Q-M3, the predominant lineage among Native Americans today.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to some of the first Americans

Though the Ice Age was beginning to retreat when your A2 ancestors first entered North America, there were still massive barriers blocking their way. Glaciers and inhospitable climate covered much of the continent, blocking entry into the interior. Nonetheless, researchers have found evidence that a wave of American founders migrated over 13,000 kilometers to reach southern Chile in only 2,000 years, a blink of an eye in the story of human migration! Their highway to the south was the coast of the Pacific, stocked with fish, diverse marine mammals, and other valuable resources in the rich kelp forests of the upper latitudes and in the abundant fresh-water rivers near the equator. Because of this rapid movement south, the A2 haplogroup and its diverse branches are found throughout North and South America.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Cervantes have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Cervantes

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Cervantes" Surname 39.1%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Cervantes

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Cervantes" Surname 35.1%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Cervantes

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Cervantes" Surname 26.5%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Cervantes

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Cervantes" Surname 17.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Cervantes?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Cervantes are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Spanish & Portuguese 56.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%