Hernández is a widespread Spanish patronymic surname that became common around the 15th century.
It means son of Hernán, Hernando, or Fernando, the Spanish version of the Germanic Ferdinand.
Hernandes and Fernandes are their Portuguese equivalents.
As of 2014, 52.9% of all known bearers of the surname Hernández were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:25), 7.7% of the United States (1:510), 6.3% of Colombia (1:83), 5.8% of Venezuela (1:57), 4.1% of Cuba (1:30), 4.0% of Spain (1:125), 4.0% of Guatemala (1:44), 2.9% of Honduras (1:33), 2.7% of El Salvador (1:26), 1.5% of Nicaragua (1:43), 1.5% of the Philippines (1:746), 1.2% of the Dominican Republic (1:92) and 1.2% of Chile (1:158).
[citation needed] In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:125) in the following autonomous communities: In Mexico, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:25) in the following states:[1]