Rodriguez Cemetery Records
Search burial records, grave locations, and genealogy data for the Rodriguez family name across all 50 states.
🏺 Origin of the Rodriguez Surname
RodrĂguez is a Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Rodrigo," from the Germanic name Roderich (fame + rule). It is one of the most common surnames in Spain and Latin America. Rodrigo was a popular Visigothic given name in medieval Iberia, and the patronymic form RodrĂguez became widespread throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
🇺🇸 Rodriguez Families in American History
Rodriguez families have roots in the US dating to Spanish colonial settlement in the Southwest, Florida, and Louisiana. Major Rodriguez immigration also came from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Central America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Rodriguez is the fastest-growing of the top-25 US surnames.
Where Rodriguez Families Are Concentrated
| State | Notes |
|---|---|
| Texas | Very high concentration; both colonial Tejano and modern immigrant Rodriguez families |
| California | Largest absolute Rodriguez population; colonial Californio and modern immigrant roots |
| New York | Puerto Rican Rodriguez community concentrated in NYC |
| Florida | Cuban and Puerto Rican Rodriguez families; also old colonial Florida heritage |
| New Mexico | Colonial Spanish Rodriguez families with roots to 1600s |
Famous Americans Named Rodriguez
Various military and civic figures in Texas history
Professional golfer from Puerto Rico
Fashion designer; Cuban-American
Author and journalist; Mexican-American
Search Tips for Rodriguez Family Records
Catholic church records are essential — virtually all Rodriguez families were Catholic; baptismal and burial records are in church archives
New Mexico mission archives contain Rodriguez records from the 1600s — some of the oldest European burial records in North America
Puerto Rican Rodriguez families: NYC records (borough death certificates) and Puerto Rico registro civil
Texas Tejano records: county courthouses and Catholic diocesan archives for San Antonio and Laredo have pre-statehood Rodriguez records
Search both RodrĂguez (with accent) and Rodriguez (without) — older records use the accented form
Variant Spellings to Search
Frequently Asked Questions
How far back do Rodriguez records go in the United States?
New Mexico mission records contain Rodriguez family entries from the early 1600s, making them among the oldest continuously documented European-heritage families in North America. Texas and California have Rodriguez records from the 18th century.
Are Puerto Rican Rodriguez families documented differently from Mexican-American ones?
Yes. Puerto Rican civil registration (from 1885 under Spanish colonial rule, then US territory) is separate from Mexican civil registration. Puerto Rican families often have NYC records from the postwar Puerto Rican diaspora (1940s-60s) in addition to island records.
Can I find Rodriguez family records before US territorial acquisition of the Southwest?
Yes. Spanish and Mexican civil and church records from before 1848 (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) survive in various archives. The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, New Mexico State Records Center, and diocesan archives hold extensive pre-American period records.
Is there a difference between Rodriguez and Rodrigues?
Rodrigues (with an S at the end instead of Z) is the Portuguese form of the same patronymic. Portuguese and Brazilian Rodrigues families are distinct from Spanish Rodriguez families despite the near-identical spelling.
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