Surname Meaning and Family History: Gomez

The surname Gomez (also spelled Gomes, Gomis, or Gometz) has Spanish origins and is a patronymic form of the given name, Gome or Gomo, meaning "man." Gomo is a pet form of Gomesano, composed of old Spanish elements meaning "man, path" plus the patronymic ending "-ez," signifying "son of." The English surname Gomme is similar, originating from the Visigothic and Old English guma and Middle English gome meaning "man."

Gomez is the 68th most popular surname in the United States and the 15th most common Hispanic surname.

Famous Gomezes

• Selena Gomez: American actress, singer and philanthropist
• Juan Vicente Gómez: ruler of Venezuela from 1908–1935
• Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez: American professional baseball player
• Mariano Gómez: Filipino priest and martyr
• Roberto Gómez Bolaños: Mexican writer and actor

Common Locations

The surname distribution data at Forebears ranks Gomez as the 130th most common surname in the world, identifying it as most prevalent in Mexico and with the highest density in Colombia. The Gomez surname is the 2nd most common surname in Colombia, 5th in Gibraltar, 8th in Argentina and Paraguay, 9th in Andorra and Spain, and 10th in Monaco. Individuals named Gomez are present in large numbers throughout Spain, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the Cantabria province of northern Spain along the Bay of Biscay.

References:

• Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
• Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.