Sanchez

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Sánchez in CL Chile, DO Dominican Republic and Санчес in RU Russia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 20 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Sanchez is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Catalan surname1.1M records spelled Sanchez18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, France, United States, Philippines

  Languages: Catalan, French

  Also written Sánchez, Sànchez, Sanchéz, Sãnchez, Sanchèz

• a separate surname612K records spelled Sanchez20 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Ecuador, Spain, United Kingdom

  Also written Sánchez, San-Chez, Sànchez, Sanchéz, S-Anchez

• Croatian surname9.9K records spelled Sanchez69 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, United States, Peru, Philippines

  Languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, Serbian

  Also written Sánchez, Sanches, Санчес, Санчез, SanceZ

• Turkish surname9.7K records spelled Sanchez11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, United States, Peru, Philippines

  Languages: Turkish, Uzbek, Azerbaijani

  Also written Sánchez, Sanchéz, Şậnçhẹz, Sànchez, Sańchez

89 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Sanchez is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A surname from Spanish [in turn originating as a patronymic] of Spanish origin.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Italian, sobrenome hispânico; filho de Sancho

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

• In Filipino, a common surname from Spanish [in turn originating as a patronymic], equivalent to Spanish Sánchez, most widespread in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Laguna

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Iloko, Sánchez: a surname from Spanish [in turn originating as a patronymic], mostly found in Ilocos Sur

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In roa-opt, a surname originating as a patronymic

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

EC INEC — Visualizador de Nombres y Apellidos, per-token query API (1900–2024) — 125 years between 1900–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Fidel Sánchez Hernándezb. 1917SVPresident of El Salvador (1917-2003)
• Óscar Ariasb. 1941CRnot in their usual namePresident of Costa Rica (1986–1990, 2006–2010)
• Carlos the Jackalb. 1949VEnot in their usual nameVenezuelan-born international terror operative
• Hugo Sánchezb. 1958MXMexican footballer and manager
• Arantxa Sánchez Vicariob. 1971ESSpanish tennis player
• Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejónb. 1972ESPrime Minister of Spain since 2018
• Penélope Cruzb. 1974ESnot in their usual nameSpanish actress (born 1974)
• David Villab. 1981ESnot in their usual nameSpanish footballer
• Álvaro Negredob. 1985ESnot in their usual nameSpanish former footballer
• Alexis Sánchezb. 1988CLChilean footballer (born 1988)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 281 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Sanchez?

We estimate roughly 2.8 million people bear Sanchez (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Sanchez have the most bearers?

Sanchez is most frequently recorded in Mexico, where it is most often spelled sanchez.

Where is Sanchez most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Sanchez is densest in Peru — about 1 in 47 people — even though Mexico holds more of our records for it.

How common is Sanchez compared with other names?

In Mexico, Sanchez is the 8th most common surname of 198,716 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Sanchez mean?

Recorded meaning: Spanish patronymic meaning ‘son of Sancho’, from a male personal name from Latin Sanctius or Sancius, probably from sanctus ‘holy’.