Intermarriage among Spanish Surnamed Californians,1962–1974 1

Abstract

The nature and extent of outgroup marriage among Mexican Americans in California during the 1962–1974 period is analyzed here through marriage records coded to indicate the Spanish surname status of the bride and groom. A high level of outmarriage was found, on the order of one-third to two-fifths of those marrying. Differentials in outmarriage proportions by age and sex were examined and tended to be relatively small. More substantial differentials were found with regard to marriage order, where higher order marriages of Spanish surnamed persons were more likely than first marriages to involve a non-Spanish surnamed partner. The largest differentials were generational, with Spanish surnamed persons not born in Mexico much more likely to outmarry than were those born in Mexico.