The Cervantes surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 82,161 people carried this name — #387 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,590 people counted. That is up 42% from 57,685 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Cervantes surname
Either from ciervo (“stag”) or from Old Spanish servanto, an evolution of Latin serviēns (“servant”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cervantes» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 2,553 people named Cervantes live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 359 people named Cervantes.
138 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Loire.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
55 people named Cervantes live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In print
Cervantes in American newspapers,
1882–1959.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 35,739 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Cervantes,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta 1511–1575 · Catholic priest -
Juan de Cervantes 1553–1614 · Catholic priest -
Julio M. Cervantes 1839–1909 · military personnel -
Ignacio Cervantes 1847–1905 · composer -
María Cervantes 1885–1981 · composer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 129 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Cervantes.
- Cerro 564 · U.S. census
- Cerrone 2,265 · U.S. census
- Cerruti 480 · U.S. census
- Certain 939 · U.S. census
- Ceruti 303 · U.S. census
- Cerutti 840 · U.S. census
- Cervelli 346 · U.S. census
- Cervera 2,329 · U.S. census
- Cervi 552 · U.S. census
- Cervini 441 · U.S. census
- Cervo 180 · U.S. census
- Cervoni 316 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Cervantes is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.