Explore the Family Name Ortez

The meaning of Ortez

Spanish: variant of Ortiz or of Catalan Ortes, plural form of Orta. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Ana, Carlos, Margarita, Mario, Sergio, Adela, Adriana, Amando, Aminta, Andres.

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

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

The surname Ortez has seen a rise in popularity according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, it was ranked 10,043 in terms of most common surnames, but by 2010 it had jumped to the 8,720th spot, representing a 13.17% increase. The count of people with this last name also saw a significant uptick from 2,960 in 2000 to 3,762 in 2010, marking an increase of 27.09%. The proportion of individuals with this last name per 100,000 people also increased from 1.1 to 1.28 during the same period, revealing a growth rate of 16.36%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#10,043	#8,720	13.17%
Count	2,960	3,762	27.09%
Proportion per 100k	1.1	1.28	16.36%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ortez

With respect to ethnic identity, the surname Ortez predominantly identifies as Hispanic according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, 85.07% of those with this surname identified as Hispanic, and this percentage rose slightly to 89.58% in 2010. In contrast, percentages of other ethnic identities associated with this surname decreased over the decade. The proportion identifying as White dropped from 11.69% to 8.40%, while Asian/Pacific Islander representation fell from 0.68% to 0.48% and Black from 0.95% to 0.69%. Those who claimed two or more races also saw a notable drop from 0.88% to 0.32%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native went down from 0.74% to 0.53%.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	85.07%	89.58%	5.3%
White	11.69%	8.4%	-28.14%
Black	0.95%	0.69%	-27.37%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.74%	0.53%	-28.38%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.68%	0.48%	-29.41%
Two or More Races	0.88%	0.32%	-63.64%