This list of Hispanic last names starting with Y is based on the 2010 United States census.
I have only included “Y” surnames where at least 60% of the holders declared that they were Hispanic.
We’ve got the historic origins and meanings of the most common names in our lists.
We also take a look at the Mexican census of 1930 and show comparisons with the United States.
Most Common Hispanic Last Name Beginning With Y
Only two Hispanic surnames beginning with Y had over twenty thousand bearers in the 2010 U.S. census.
Here are the Hispanic Y last names with over five thousand bearers:
| Last Name | # Who Declared Hispanic | # Total Holders | % Declared Hispanic |
| Yanez | 24,032 | 25,563 | 94% |
| Ybarra | 19,559 | 22,211 | 88% |
| Yepez | 6,144 | 6,433 | 96% |
| Yanes | 4,499 | 5,140 | 88% |
Here are the other surnames that had just above one thousand bearers.
| Last Name | # Who Declared Hispanic | # Total Holders | % Declared Hispanic |
| Ybanez | 1,107 | 1,709 | 65% |
| Yzaguirre | 1,370 | 1,629 | 84% |
| Yepes | 1,257 | 1,355 | 93% |
| Yniguez | 889 | 1,070 | 83% |
| Yescas | 1,004 | 1,061 | 95% |
Origins Of The Name Yanez And It’s Variants
Yanez is the most common Hispanic surname starting with Y in the 2010 U.S. census.
There were over twenty-five thousand people in total with the name. Ninety-four percent declared that they were Hispanic.
The origins are in the personal name Juan. When surnames took hold in Europe, the early bearers of the name Yanez were likely sons of Juan.
Juan and John come from the Hebrew name Yohanan, which means “Jehovah has given me a son”.
Variants of the name spread through Europe with Christianity in deference to saints like John the Baptist or John the Evangelist.
Other variants
The name Yanes is a less common variant of Yanez with about five thousand bearers.
Ybanez is another variant. Interestingly, only about sixty-five percent declared as Hispanic. The other bearers may be of Czech or Slovenian origin.
Ybarra
The name Ybarra is the second most common Hispanic name starting with Y.
Over twenty-two thousand people in 2010 in America were called Ybarra. Eighty-eight percent ticked the Hispanic box in the census.
This is a variant of the name Ibarra. The early origins are in the Basque Country where there are several towns and villages named Ibarra.
The meaning comes from the word for a valley.
Yepez And Yepes
The first two names in this list had over twenty thousand bearers. There is no other Hispanic name starting with Y that had over ten thousand people in 2010.
Yepez had about 6,400 bearers with 95% being Hispanic.
The name is a variant of the Spanish name Yepes. Historically, the earliest people with the name came from the town of that name in the Spanish province of Toledo.
Yzaguirre
Yzaguirre had over 1,600 bearers with 84% declaring as Hispanic.
The meaning comes from the Basque words for a place that is exposed to the wind. The early European bearers of the name likely lived in places named Izaguirre or Yzaguirre.
Yniguez
Yniguez had just over one thousand bearers with 83% declaring as Hispanic.
It is a form of the personal name Inigo. Historically, this was a Castilian name.
Yescas
Yescas also had just over one thousand bearers but was a little less common than Yniguez.
However, because 95% declared as Hispanic, there were more Hispanic people named Yescas than Yniguez.
Yescas is a variant of the Spanish name Illescas. Historically, the earliest bearers likely came from the town of that name in the Spanish province of Toledo.
Common Mexican Last Names Starting With Y
The Mexican government doesn’t release data from recent censuses. However, the 1930 Mexican census is available.
Let’s compare the numbers from 1930 Mexico with the names I’ve already discussed. I’ve put the U.S. Hispanic numbers in this table.
You can see that they don’t really align in terms of how common they are in the two different countries.
| Last Name | Mexico 1930 | U.S. Hispanic 2010 |
| Yanez | 5,480 | 24,032 |
| Ybarra | 11,874 | 19,559 |
| Yepez | 735 | 6,144 |
| Yanes | 3,037 | 4,499 |
| Yzaguirre | 431 | 1,370 |
| Yepes | 525 | 1,257 |
| Ybanez | 967 | 1,107 |
| Yescas | 1,089 | 1,004 |
| Yniguez | 795 | 889 |
Can’t Find A Surname That You Know?
The surname may have fallen under our 60% threshold for holders declaring themselves as Hispanic.
You can use our surname ranking tool, which shows you where any last name ranks in the U.S. census.
