SPOILER ALERT: There are going to be a few Latino last names on this list. (Heh.)

There probably aren't a whole lot of surprises when it comes to compiling a list of the most common last names in El Paso. But what might surprise you is that the names that are most common today aren't necessarily the most common names you saw here a century ago.

Just thinking about how many people have come in and out of this city since it was founded in 1680 is kind of mind-blowing. Each one of those people brought and left just a little of their history here.

In the list below, you can see the most common last names today and compare them to the most common names El Paso had in 1880, all via the U.S. Census data. A name on one list may have completely disappeared from the other, while some names will always be associated with the Borderland.

PRO-TIP: If you want to see if your last name is on this list, but you're not entirely keen about scrolling through 100 names here's a quick way to get to what you want:

  • On a PC:  Hit CTRL+F. Type your name into the search box that appears.
  • On a Mac:  Hit Command+F. Type your name into the search box that appears.
  • On an Android phone: Go to the menu button on your web browser and go to 'Find in Page.'
  • On an iPhone: Go up to the URL bar and type in your name. DO NOT hit enter. Just scroll down, and you'll find the name highlighted in the list.

These are the most common surnames in El Paso County in both the 1880 and 2014 U.S. Census as reported by Forebears.io:

Top Last Names 2014

  1. Hernandez
  2. Garcia
  3. Martinez
  4. Rodriguez
  5. Gonzalez
  6. Lopez
  7. Ramirez
  8. Flores
  9. Sanchez
  10. Chavez
  11. Perez
  12. Torres
  13. Morales
  14. Gomez
  15. Reyes
  16. Gutierrez
  17. Vasquez
  18. Mendoza
  19. Herrera
  20. Rivera
  21. Diaz
  22. Ortiz
  23. Muñoz
  24. Dominguez
  25. Moreno
  26. Acosta
  27. Marquez
  28. Ortega
  29. Aguilar
  30. Ruiz
  31. Delgado
  32. Ramos
  33. Estrada
  34. Soto
  35. Alvarez
  36. Medina and Castillo (tie)
  37. Contreras
  38. Alvarado
  39. Romero
  40. Carrillo
  41. Aguirre
  42. Smith
  43. Duran
  44. Avila
  45. Saenz
  46. Valdez
  47. Macias
  48. Silva and Jimenez (tie)
  49. Vargas
  50. Olivas
  51. Salazar
  52. Gonzales
  53. Luna and Fernandez (tie)
  54. Castro
  55. Nuñez
  56. Esparza
  57. Holguin
  58. Guerrero
  59. Rios
  60. Salas
  61. Padilla
  62. Lara
  63. Armendariz
  64. Johnson
  65. Solis
  66. Valenzuela
  67. Williams
  68. Barraza
  69. Pena and Cruz (tie)
  70. Sandoval and Castañeda (tie)
  71. Rosales
  72. Enriquez and Brown (tie)
  73. Lujan
  74. Gallegos
  75. Maldonado and Lozano (tie)
  76. Molina
  77. Ochoa
  78. Juarez
  79. Espinoza
  80. Guzman
  81. Villalobos and Melendez (tie)
  82. Mendez
  83. Fierro
  84. Franco
  85. Portillo
  86. Montes
  87. Rubio
  88. Carrasco

Top Last Names 1880

  1. Garcia
  2. Apodaca
  3. Gonzalez
  4. Olguin
  5. Duran
  6. Guerra
  7. Lucero
  8. Padilla
  9. Fellez, Candelario, Hernandez (tie)
  10. Lujan
  11. Provencio
  12. Madrid, Montoya (tie)
  13. Romero, Marquez (tie)
  14. Granillo
  15. Gomez and Pedraza (tie)
  16. Martinez, Perez (tie)
  17. Chavez
  18. Morales
  19. Paiz, Carasco, Flores, Ortega (tie)
  20. Medina, Lopes, Piarote (tie)
  21. Trujillo
  22. Chavez, Estrada (tie)
  23. Lopez, Cadena (tie)
  24. Ortiz, Marques, Loya, Alderete, Escojina (tie)
  25. Varella, Smith, Montes, Arias (tie)
  26. Peres, Tellez, Alderette, Alvarez, Martin, Tarin (tie)
  27. Miller
  28. Archuleta, Tapia, Marrujo, Baca, Avillar, Rodriguez, Telles (tie)
  29. Ortis, Barela, Vigil, Armendarez, Silva, Cordero, Pedregon, Gerreroa, Valencia (tie)
  30. Jurado, Padillo, Carbajal, Luna, Romer, Collins, Loyer, Caribajal, Aguirre, Chasco, Rodela, Granado, Beltran (tie)
  31. Yrigoyen, Cortes, Abeita, Venal, Soya, Domenguez, Lucano, Piña, Urtlaja, Maldonado, Acosta, Arrias, Sanches, Ruiz (tie)
  32. Apadaca, Mase, Martinas, Alarcon, Cooper, Ledesma, Ruis, Naraujo (tie)

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