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).

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".

Alonso Spanish
From the given name Alonso.

Amador Spanish
Derived from the given name Amador.

Andrés Spanish
Derived from the given name Andrés.

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.

Arenas Spanish
From various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish arena meaning "sand".

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

Arroyo Spanish
Means "stream, brook" in Spanish.

Barros Portuguese, Spanish
From the Portuguese and Spanish word barro meaning "clay, mud". This could either be an occupational name for a person who worked with clay or mud such as a builder or artisan, or a topographic name for someone living near clay or mud.

Benito Spanish
From the given name Benito.

Blanco Spanish
Means "white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.

Bosque Spanish
Spanish form of Bosco.

Bustos Spanish
Variant of Busto.

Campos Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese and Spanish variant of Campo.

Casado Spanish
From a nickname meaning "married" in Spanish.

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.

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).

Correa Spanish
Spanish form of Correia.

Cortés Spanish
Means "polite, courteous" in Spanish.

Cortez Spanish
Variant of Cortés.

Crespo Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Referred to a person with curly hair, from Latin crispus meaning "curly".

Cuesta Spanish
Spanish form of Costa.

Cuevas Spanish
Derived from Spanish cueva meaning "cave".

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

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

Duarte Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Duarte.

Espina Spanish
Means "thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.

Espino Spanish
Variant of Espina.

Felipe Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian)
From the given name Felipe.

Fierro Spanish, Italian
Variant of Ferro.

Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.

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

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.

Gaspar Portuguese, Spanish
Derived from the given name Gaspar.

Guerra Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "war", given to a belligerent person or one engaged in warfare.

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".

Hierro Spanish
Spanish form of Ferro.

Huerta Spanish
Means "garden, orchard" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin hortus.

Ibáñez Spanish
Means "son of Ibán".

Ibarra Basque, Spanish
From Basque place names derived from ibar meaning "meadow".

Juárez Spanish
Variant of Suárez.

Jurado Spanish
Occupational name for a judge or another official who had to take an oath, derived from Latin iurare "to take an oath".

Lázaro Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Lázaro.

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.

Lozano Spanish
Means "healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.

Macías Spanish
Derived from the given name Mateo.

Marcos Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Marcos. A famous bearer was Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989).

Marino Italian, Spanish
Derived from the given name Marino.

Martín Spanish
Derived from the given name Martín.

Mateos Spanish
Derived from the given name Mateo.

Medina Spanish
Means "(Arab) city" in Spanish, derived from Arabic مدينة (madīna).

Méndez Spanish
Variant of Menéndez.

Merino Spanish
From the title for a judge in medieval Spain, derived from Latin maior.

Miguel Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Miguel.

Molina Spanish
Means "mill" in Spanish.

Montes Spanish
From Spanish monte "mountain, hill", derived from Latin mons.

Moreno Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "dark" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Nieves Spanish
From the given name Nieves.

Obando Spanish
Habitational name for someone who came from Obando in Extremadura, Spain.

Olguín Spanish
Variant of Holguín.

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

Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".

Palomo Spanish
Means "pigeon, dove", from Latin palumbes.

Pastor Spanish
Means "shepherd" in Spanish.

Peláez Spanish
Means "son of Pelayo".

Pineda Spanish, Catalan
Means "pine forest" in Spanish and Catalan.

Porras Spanish, Catalan
From a nickname meaning "club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin porrum meaning "leek".

Prieto Spanish
From a nickname meaning "dark" in Spanish, referring to a person with dark hair or skin.

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

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

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

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

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

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

Roldán Spanish
Derived from the given name Roldán.

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

Sancho Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Sancho.

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

Sastre Spanish
Spanish cognate of Sarto.

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

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

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

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

Valdez Spanish
Means "son of Baldo".

Valero Spanish
From the given name Valero.

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.

Villar Spanish
Spanish cognate of Vilar.

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

Ybarra Spanish, Basque
Variant of Ibarra.

Zavala Spanish
Variant of Zabala.