Rodrigues
A Portuguese and Galician patronymic meaning “son of Rodrigo.”
The #1,122 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,870 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rodrigues is a patronymic surname built from the given name Rodrigo, the Iberian form of Latinized Rudericus/Rodericus. Earlier scholarship linked that personal name to a Germanic compound often explained as meaning “famous power” or “glory-power,” though the exact reconstruction is not certain. In form, Rodrigues means “descendant of Rodrigo,” with the final -es serving as an old Iberian patronymic ending.
History
The surname is especially common in Portuguese-speaking communities, and it also appears in Galicia and other Iberian-language settings. A related form, Rodriguez, is the more familiar Spanish spelling in many places, while Rodrigues is the standard Portuguese form. Because Iberian surnames spread widely through migration, the name is now found in the Americas, Africa, and beyond.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same personal name also produced the very common Spanish surname Rodríguez, so Rodrigues and Rodríguez are close cousins rather than unrelated names.
From the historical record
“Ruodolf (glorieux-loup), 735. Rodrigues. Nom de saint, en la- tin Rudericus, du vieux nom germ. Hroderich (gloire-puissant), 741. Rodriguez. Fils de Rodrigues.”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)