Explore the Family Name De Los Santos

The meaning of De Los Santos

Spanish: from de los Santos, literally ‘of the saints’, a common element of personal names, originally denoting a child born or baptized on All Saints’ Day (see Santos 1). Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Manuel, Miguel, Francisco, Carlos, Mario, Armando, Pedro, Raul, Jesus, Roberto.

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

How common is the last name De Los Santos in the United States?

The surname De Los Santos has seen a rise in its popularity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, it was ranked 2409 but by 2010 it had moved up to position 1880, representing an increase of approximately 21.96%. The count of individuals with this surname increased from 13,802 in 2000 to 19,131 in 2010, an impressive growth rate of 38.61%. Furthermore, the proportion per 100k also significantly increased from 5.12 to 6.49, marking a 26.76% change.

20002010Change
Rank#2,409#1,88021.96%
Count13,80219,13138.61%
Proportion per 100k5.126.4926.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name De Los Santos

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data indicates that the majority of individuals bearing the surname De Los Santos identify as Hispanic. This demographic represented 77.94% in 2000 and slightly increased to 79.02% in 2010. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander made up the second largest group, although their representation slightly decreased from 15.31% to 14.83% during this period. There was a noted decline in those identifying as White, from 4.86% to 4.11%, while those identifying as Black saw an increase from 0.31% to 0.39%. Lastly, the percentage of individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native or as belonging to two or more races remained relatively stable over the decade.

20002010Change
Hispanic77.94%79.02%1.39%
Asian/Pacific Islander15.31%14.83%-3.14%
White4.86%4.11%-15.43%
Two or More Races1.42%1.47%3.52%
Black0.31%0.39%25.81%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.16%0.17%6.25%

De Los Santos 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 De Los Santos is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 37.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (22.4%) and British & Irish (8.4%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Filipino & Austronesian, Senegambian & Guinean, Angolan & Congolese, and Nigerian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese37.4%
Indigenous American22.4%
British & Irish8.4%
Other31.9%
De Los Santos

Possible origins of the surname De Los Santos

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 De Los Santos have recent ancestry locations all within Mexico.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Sonora, Mexico50.30%
Guerrero, Mexico50.30%
Oaxaca, Mexico50.30%
Nuevo Leon, Mexico50.30%
Michoacan, Mexico50.30%

What De Los Santos 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 De Los Santos is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include Q-M3 and O-M324, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Sena, Zepeda, Ocampo, Ramon, Graham, Burgos, Carbajal, Cortes, Randazzo, Guillen.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with De Los Santos surname are: A2, H, B2. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

de-los-santosPaternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages

Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.

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 De Los Santos 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

De Los Santos

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"De Los Santos" Surname 43.1%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

De Los Santos

Misophonia

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

"De Los Santos" Surname 41.9%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

De Los Santos

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"De Los Santos" Surname 23.8%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

De Los Santos

Migraine

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

"De Los Santos" Surname 16.1%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name De Los Santos?

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 De Los Santos 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%