Central American Surnames

Quijada Spanish
Means "jaw" in Spanish, a nickname for someone with a large jaw.

Quijano Spanish
From the name of a village in northern Spain.

Quiñones Spanish
From various Spanish place names derived from quiñón meaning "shared piece of land", derived from Latin quinque "five".

Quintana Spanish, Catalan
Originally indicated someone who lived on a piece of land where the rent was a fifth of its produce, from Spanish and Catalan quintana "fifth", from Latin quintus.

Quirós Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain, which may derive from Galician queiroa meaning "heather".

Quixada Spanish (Archaic)
Old spelling of Quijada.

Quixano Spanish (Archaic)
Old spelling of Quijano.

Ramírez Spanish
Means "son of Ramiro" in Spanish.

Ramos Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin ramus meaning "branch".

Rana Italian, Spanish
Means "frog" in Italian and Spanish.

Redondo Spanish
Means "round" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rendón Spanish
Possibly derived from a variant of Spanish de rondón meaning "unexpectedly, rashly".

Rey 1 English, Spanish, French, Catalan
Means "king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin rex (genitive regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.

Reyes Spanish
Spanish variant of Rey 1.

Rico Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "rich, wealthy" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Ríos Spanish
Spanish cognate of Rios.

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

Robledo Spanish
Means "oak wood" from Spanish roble "oak", ultimately from Latin robur.

Robles Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived near an oak tree or forest, from Spanish roble "oak", from Latin robur.

Roca Spanish, Catalan, Occitan
Spanish, Catalan and Occitan cognate of Roach.

Rodrigo Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Rodrigo.

Rodríguez Spanish
Means "son of Rodrigo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Rodriguez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Rodríguez.

Rodriquez Spanish
Variant of Rodríguez.

Rojas Spanish
Variant of Rojo.

Rojo Spanish
Means "red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.

Roldán Spanish
Derived from the given name Roldán.

Román Spanish
From the given name Román.

Romero Spanish
Derived from Spanish romero meaning "pilgrim to Rome".

Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.

Rosario Spanish
Spanish form of Rosário.

Rubio Spanish
Nickname for a person with red hair, from Latin rubeus "red".

Rueda Spanish
Spanish cognate of Royer.

Ruiz Spanish
Means "son of Ruy" in Spanish.

Sáez Spanish
Variant of Sánchez.

Sala Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian
Occupational name for a worker at a manor house, from the Romance word sala meaning "hall, large room", of Germanic origin.

Salamanca Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Salamanca, a city in western Spain that is of unknown meaning.

Salas Spanish
Variant of Sala.

Salazar Basque, Spanish
From Spanish sala meaning "hall" and Basque zahar meaning "old". It can also refer to the town of Salazar in Burgos, Spain, which is of the same origin.

Salcedo Spanish
Derived from Latin salix meaning "willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.

Salinas Spanish
Occupational name for a salt worker or someone who lived bear a salt works, from Spanish salina "salt works, salt mine", ultimately from Latin sal "salt".

Salvador Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Salvador.

Sánchez Spanish
Means "son of Sancho".

Sanchez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Sánchez.

Sancho Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Sancho.

Sandoval Spanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".

San Nicolás Spanish
Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.

Santana Spanish, Portuguese
From any of the numerous places named after Saint Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).

Santiago Spanish, Portuguese
From various Spanish and Portuguese places called Santiago.

Santos Portuguese, Spanish
Means "saint" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.

Sanz Spanish
From the given name Sancho.

Sastre Spanish
Spanish cognate of Sarto.

Segura Spanish, Catalan
From places with names derived from Spanish or Catalan segura meaning "safe, secure".

Sepúlveda Spanish
Derived from the name of the Sepúlveda Valley in the mountains of Segovia, and was originally used to denote people from that region. It is possibly derived from Spanish sepultar "to bury".

Serrano Spanish
Variant of Sierra.

Sierra Spanish
Originally indicated a dweller on a hill range or ridge, from Spanish sierra "mountain range", derived from Latin serra "saw".

Silva Portuguese, Spanish
From Spanish or Portuguese silva meaning "forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.

Simón Spanish
From the given name Simón.

Solís Spanish
From the name of a village in Asturias, Spain, derived from Spanish sol "sun".

Sosa Spanish
Spanish form of Sousa.

Soto Spanish
Means "grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin saltus.

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

Suero Spanish
Derived from the given name Suero.

Tapia Spanish
Means "mud wall" in Spanish.

Terrazas Spanish
Originally a name for a person from Terrazas in the Spanish city of Burgos, a place name meaning "terraces".

Toledano Spanish
Derived from the name of the city of Toledo in Spain, which was from Latin Toletum, which may have been derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".

Torres Spanish, Portuguese
Name for a person who lived in or near a tower, ultimately from Latin turris.

Tos Spanish
Spanish form of Tosi.

Travieso Spanish
Spanish form of Travers.

Trujillo Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called Turgalium in Latin.

Ureña Spanish
Probably derived from the name of Urueña, a town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, which is of unknown meaning.

Valdez Spanish
Means "son of Baldo".

Valencia Spanish
From the name of the Spanish city of Valencia.

Valero Spanish
From the given name Valero.

Valiente Spanish
From a nickname derived from Spanish valiente meaning "brave".

Varela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.

Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.

Vásquez Spanish
Means "son of Vasco".

Vázquez Spanish
Variant of Vásquez.

Vega Spanish
From Spanish vega meaning "meadow, plain", of Basque origin.

Vela Spanish
Occupational name for a guard, from Spanish vela meaning "watch, vigil".

Velasco Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.

Velásquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.

Velázquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).

Ventura Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan
From the given name Bonaventura.

Vera Spanish
Means "shore, bank" in Spanish. This was a name for a person who lived near such a feature, or who came from any of the various locations in Spain named Vera or La Vera.

Vicario Spanish, Italian
Means "vicar" in Spanish and Italian, an ecclesiastic title used to denote a representative of a bishop. It is derived from Latin vicarius meaning "substitute, deputy".

Vicente Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Vicente.

Vico Italian, Spanish
Means "town, village", derived from Latin vicus.

Vidal Spanish, Catalan, French
From the given name Vidal.

Vigo Italian, Spanish
Variant of Vico.

Villa Italian, Spanish
Means "town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.

Villalba Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish villa "town" and alba "white".

Villalobos Spanish
Habitational name for a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish villa "town" and lobo "wolf".

Villanueva Spanish
Originally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and nueva "new".

Villar Spanish
Spanish cognate of Vilar.

Villaverde Spanish
Originally denoted a person from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from villa "town" and verde "green".

Viteri Spanish, Basque
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Basque place name.

Ybarra Spanish, Basque
Variant of Ibarra.

Zambrano Spanish
Possibly a habitational name for someone from Zambrana, a town in the province of Álava in Spain.

Zamorano Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.

Zapatero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Savatier.

Zavala Spanish
Variant of Zabala.