Its origins trace back to a Visigothic name combining the words gunþo (guntho) (battle or war) and alf (elf); the Latinized form was Gundisalv.

[4] Some believe the name to mean "war hall", as evidenced by the castle in a field of blood on its family crest and the Visigothic cultural origins of the nation of Spain.

[5] Common spellings include: Gonzalez (no acute accent), Gonzáles, Gonzales, Gonzalés, González and Gonçalves.

The variant Consolus appears among people descended from a Spaniard with the surname Gonsález who settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

[citation needed] As of 2014, 31.8% of all known bearers of the surname González were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:44), 10.8% of Spain (1:49), 10.0% of Venezuela (1:34), 7.4% of Argentina (1:66), 7.1% of the United States (1:584), 6.7% of Colombia (1:81), 5.1% of Cuba (1:26), 4.2% of Chile (1:48), 3.1% of Paraguay (1:27), 2.7% of Guatemala (1:68), 1.7% of Panama (1:27), 1.7% of Nicaragua (1:42), 1.4% of the Dominican Republic (1:85), 1.1% of El Salvador (1:67) and 1.1% of Ecuador (1:171).