Browse Surnames

Abarca Spanish
From the name of a type of leather-soled shoe or sandal made on the Balearic Islands. It originally indicated a person who made or sold this item.

Acosta Spanish
Spanish form of Da Costa (from a misdivision of the surname).

Agua Spanish
Means "water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Aguado Spanish
Derived from Spanish agua "water", indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Alfaro Spanish
Originally denoted someone who was from the city of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. It is possibly derived from Arabic meaning "the watchtower".

Álvarez Spanish
Means "son of Álvaro".

Alvarez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Álvarez.

Anaya Spanish
From the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning "stagnant water" or "path".

Antúnez Spanish
Means "son of Antonio".

Aquino Italian, Spanish
From the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.

Araujo Spanish
Spanish form of Araújo.

Araya Spanish
Denoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.

Arechavaleta Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.

Arias Spanish
Possibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.

Aritza Spanish, Basque
From Basque aritz meaning "oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).

Arreola Spanish
Variant of Arriola, found predominantly in Mexico.

Arriola Spanish, Basque
From Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque arri "stone" and -ola "place of, house".

Asís Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called Asís in Spanish).

Asturias Spanish
From the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque asta "rock" and ur "water".

Ávila Spanish
From the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.

Ayala Spanish
From the name of the town of Ayala (called Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque aiher "slope" or alha "pasture".

Banderas Spanish
Spanish cognate of Banner.

Barrera Spanish
Spanish cognate of Barr.

Basurto Spanish
From the Basque place name Basurtu, a village (now part of Bilbao) in Biscay. It means "middle of the forest".

Benítez Spanish
Means "son of Benito".

Bermúdez Spanish
Means "son of Bermudo".

Bolívar Spanish
From Bolibar, the name of a small Basque village, derived from Basque bolu "mill" and ibar "meadow". This name was borne by the revolutionary Simón Bolívar (1783-1830).

Borja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the Spanish town of Borja in Aragon, derived from Arabic برْج (burj) meaning "tower".

Bosque Spanish
Spanish form of Bosco.

Bustillo Spanish
From the name of Spanish towns, diminutive forms of Busto.

Busto Spanish, Italian
From the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture".

Bustos Spanish
Variant of Busto.

Caballero Spanish
From a nickname derived from Spanish caballero meaning "knight", a cognate of Chevalier.

Cabello Spanish
Means "hair" in Spanish, used as a nickname for a person with a large amount of hair.

Cabrera Spanish
From various place names derived from Late Latin capraria meaning "place of goats", from Latin capra meaning "goat".

Campana Italian, Spanish
Occupational name from Late Latin campana meaning "bell", ultimately derived from the Italian region of Campania, where bells were produced.

Campos Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese and Spanish variant of Campo.

Capilla Spanish
Spanish form of Kappel.

Cárdenas Spanish
From the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish cárdeno "blue, purple".

Cardozo Spanish
Variant of Cardoso.

Carmona Spanish
From the name of the city of Carmona in Andalusia, Spain. It is possibly derived from Phoenician 𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤌𐤍 (Qart Ḥamun) meaning "city of Hammon" (the name of a Carthaginian god, see Ba'al Hammon).

Casales Spanish
Variant of Casal.

Casas Spanish
From Spanish casa meaning "house", of Latin origin.

Castañeda Spanish
Habitational name from any of various places called Castañeda, from a Spanish word meaning "chesnut grove", itself derived from castaña meaning "chesnut".

Castellano Spanish
Variant of Castilla.

Castilla Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Castile, a region (and medieval kingdom) in Spain. The name of the region is derived from Late Latin castellum meaning "castle".

Castillo Spanish
Spanish cognate of Castle.

Castro Spanish, Portuguese
Means "castle" in Spanish and Portuguese, referring to one who lived near a castle. A famous bearer was Fidel Castro (1926-2016), revolutionary and president of Cuba.

Catalán Spanish
Originally indicated a person who came from Catalonia, a region of eastern Spain.

Chavarría Spanish
Variant of Echeverría.

Chaves Portuguese, Spanish
From the name of a Portuguese city, derived from the Roman name Flavius (being named for the emperor Vespasian, whose family name was Flavius).

Chávez Spanish
Variant of Chaves. A famous bearer was the labour leader César Chávez (1927-1993).

Colón Spanish
Spanish form of Colombo.

Contreras Spanish
From the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin contraria meaning "area opposite".

Correa Spanish
Spanish form of Correia.

Cortez Spanish
Variant of Cortés.

Cruz Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese cognate of Cross.

Cuéllar Spanish
Derived from the name of the town of Cuéllar in the Segovia province of Spain. It may be derived from Latin collis meaning "hill".

Cuesta Spanish
Spanish form of Costa.

Dalí Spanish
From a given name, itself a diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element adal meaning "noble". This was the surname of the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).

De la Cruz Spanish
Spanish cognate of Delacroix.

Dela Cruz Spanish (Filipinized)
Variant of De la Cruz primarily used in the Philippines (where it is the most common surname).

De la Fuente Spanish
Means "of the fountain" in Spanish.

Del Bosque Spanish
Means "of the forest" in Spanish.

De León Spanish
Referred to someone from the Leon region of Spain.

Del Olmo Spanish
Variant of Olmo.

Del Río Spanish
Means "of the river" in Spanish.

De Santiago Spanish
Variant of Santiago.

Díaz Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Díez Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Domínguez Spanish
Means "son of Domingo".

Durán Spanish
Spanish cognate of Durand.

Echevarría Spanish
Variant of Echeverría.

Enríquez Spanish
Means "son of Enrique".

Escamilla Spanish
Derived from the name of the town of Escamilla in Gualadajara, Spain.

Escobar Spanish
Derived from Spanish escoba meaning "broom plant", from Latin scopa. It originally indicated a person who lived near a prominent patch of broom.

Escudero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Lécuyer.

Esparza Spanish
Derived from the Basque place name Espartza, a town in the province of Navarre.

Espino Spanish
Variant of Espina.

Espinosa Spanish
From Spanish espinoso meaning "thorny", ultimately from Latin spinosus, a derivative of spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.

Espinoza Spanish
Variant of Espinosa.

Estévez Spanish
Means "son of Esteban".

Estrada Spanish
Spanish form of Street.

Expósito Spanish
Spanish cognate of Esposito.

Fernández Spanish
Means "son of Fernando". This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Fernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Fernández.

Fierro Spanish, Italian
Variant of Ferro.

Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.

Fontana Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish cognate of Fontaine.

Franco Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Cognate of Frank 1. This name was borne by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (1892-1975).

Gallegos Spanish
Variant of Gallego.

García Spanish
From a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.

Garcia Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese form of García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.

Giménez Spanish
Variant of Jiménez.

Gómez Spanish
Spanish form of Gomes.

Gomez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Gómez.

Gonzales Spanish
Variant of González.

González Spanish
Means "son of Gonzalo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Gonzalez Spanish
Unaccented variant of González.

Guadarrama Spanish
Derived from the name of the town of Guadarrama near Madrid.

Guerrero Spanish
Means "warrior" in Spanish, an occupational name for a soldier. It is derived from Late Latin werra "war", of Germanic origin.

Guevara Spanish
Hispanicized form of Gebara. A notable bearer was Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967).

Gutiérrez Spanish
Means "son of Gutierre".

Gutierrez Spanish
Variant of Gutiérrez.

Guzmán Spanish
From the name of the town of Guzmán in Burgos, Spain. The town's name itself may be derived from an old Visigothic given name, from the Germanic elements *gautaz "a Geat" and *mannô "person, man".

Hernández Spanish
Means "son of Hernando" in Spanish.

Hernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Hernández.

Herrera Spanish
Spanish form of Ferreira.

Herrero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Ferrari.

Hidalgo Spanish
Means "nobleman" in Spanish. The Spanish word is a contraction of the phrase hijo de algo meaning "son of something". This surname was typically in origin a nickname or an occupational name for one who worked in a noble's household.

Hierro Spanish
Spanish form of Ferro.

Ibáñez Spanish
Means "son of Ibán".

Iglesias Spanish
From Spanish iglesia meaning "church", from Latin ecclesia (of Greek origin).

Íñiguez Spanish
Means "son of Íñigo" in Spanish.

Iñíguez Spanish
Variant of Íñiguez.

Jiménez Spanish
Means "son of Jimeno".

Juárez Spanish
Variant of Suárez.

Lara Spanish
From the name of a village in Burgos, Spain. It might be derived from Latin lar "household god, house, home".

León 1 Spanish
Referred to a person from the city of León in northern Spain, derived from Latin legio (genitive legionis) meaning "legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there.

López Spanish
Means "son of Lope" in Spanish.

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Loyola Spanish, Basque
From the name of a place name near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of Spain, derived from Basque loi meaning "mud". This was the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of Jesuits.

Lucas English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch
Derived from the given name Lucas. A famous bearer of this surname is George Lucas (1944-), the creator of the Star Wars movies.

Maradona Spanish
From the name of a place near Lugo in northern Spain. A notable bearer is the former Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona (1960-2020).

Márquez Spanish
Means "son of Marcos".

Martínez Spanish
Means "son of Martín" in Spanish.

Martinez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Martínez.

Matos Portuguese, Spanish
Variant of Mata.

Meléndez Spanish
Variant of Menéndez.

Méndez Spanish
Variant of Menéndez.

Menéndez Spanish
Means "son of Menendo" in Spanish, the given name Menendo being a medieval Spanish form of Hermenegildo.

Merlo Italian, Spanish
Means "blackbird", ultimately from Latin merula. The blackbird is a symbol of a naive person.

Miranda Spanish, Portuguese
Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain and Portugal bearing this name, possibly derived from Latin mirandus "admirable, wonderful". A notable bearer was the Portuguese-born Brazilian singer and actress Carmen Miranda (1909-1955).

Montaña Spanish
Spanish cognate of Montagna.

Monte Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Italian variant of Monti, as well as a Portuguese and Spanish cognate.

Montero Spanish
Means "hunter" in Spanish, an agent derivative of monte meaning "mountain, wilderness".

Montoya Spanish
From the name of a village in the province of Álava in Spain. It is possibly of Basque origin, or possibly from Latin mons "mountain, hill".

Mora Spanish
Derived from Spanish mora meaning "mulberry", of Latin origin.

Morales Spanish
Derived from Spanish moral meaning "mulberry tree", of Latin origin.

Moralez Spanish
Variant of Morales.

Morán Spanish
Spanish form of Morandi.

Moya Spanish
From any of various towns named Moya in Spain, of uncertain meaning.

Muñoz Spanish
Patronymic derived from the medieval Spanish given name Muño, from Latin Munnius, possibly of Germanic origin.

Narváez Spanish
From the name of a town in central Spain.

Navarro Spanish
Denoted a person who came from Navarre in northern Spain (Spanish Navarra). The name of the region is of Basque origin, possibly from nabar meaning "brown".

Noguera Spanish, Catalan
Spanish and Catalan form of Nogueira.

Núñez Spanish
Means "son of Nuño".

Ochoa Spanish
Spanish form of Otxoa.

Ojeda Spanish
From the name of the Ojeda river in Soria, Spain, possibly derived from Latin folia "leaves".

Olguín Spanish
Variant of Holguín.

Olmos Spanish
Variant of Olmo.

Oquendo Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Okondo in Álava, northern Spain, possibly derived from Basque ukondo "elbow".

Orellana Spanish
Originally indicated a person from one of the two towns named Orellana in Badajoz, Spain. Their names are probably derived from Latin Aureliana meaning "of Aurelius".

Orozco Spanish
From the name of a valley in the Basque region of Spain.

Ortiz Spanish
Means "son of Orti", a byname deriving either from Latin fortis meaning "brave, strong" or fortunius meaning "fortunate".

Pacheco Spanish, Portuguese
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Francisco.

Palacio Spanish
Spanish cognate of Palazzo.

Palacios Spanish
Spanish cognate of Palazzo.

Palencia Spanish
Habitational name from the city or region of Palencia in northern Spain.

Pantoja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Pantoja, in Toledo, Spain.

Pavía Spanish
Spanish form of Pavia.

Peláez Spanish
Means "son of Pelayo".

Pérez Spanish
Means "son of Pedro".

Perez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Pérez.

Plaza Spanish
Spanish cognate of Piazza.

Puerta Spanish
Means "door, gate", a topographic name for a person who lived near the gates of the town.

Quesada Spanish
Habitational name from Quesada, a place in Jaén in southern Spain. The place name is of uncertain derivation; it could be connected to Old Spanish requexada meaning "corner, tight spot".

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.

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

Reyes Spanish
Spanish variant of Rey 1.

Ríos Spanish
Spanish cognate of Rios.

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

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

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.

Rosario Spanish
Spanish form of Rosário.

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.

Sánchez Spanish
Means "son of Sancho".

Sanchez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Sánchez.

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

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

Sastre Spanish
Spanish cognate of Sarto.

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.

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".

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".

Tos Spanish
Spanish form of Tosi.

Travieso Spanish
Spanish form of Travers.

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.

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.

Vásquez Spanish
Means "son of Vasco".

Vázquez Spanish
Variant of Vásquez.

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

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".

Vigo Italian, Spanish
Variant of Vico.

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".

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.