AbregoSpanish As a Spanish surname, it was from Spanish ábrego, which originally meant "African", from Latin africus. The vocabulary word in modern Spanish has lost this general sense and now means "south wind" (literally, "African (wind)").
AbundisSpanish (Mexican) The surname Abundis is patronymic from the Old Spanish personal name Abundio, ultimately from Latin abundus ‘abundant’, ‘plentiful’.
AburtoBasque, Spanish, Spanish (Mexican) The surname Aburto is a topographic name from Basque aburto ‘place of kermes oaks’, from abur ‘kermes oak’ + the locative suffix -lo.
AcevedoSpanish Derived from Spanish acebedo meaning "holly grove", itself from acebo meaning "holly tree".
AchioSpanish (Latin American) Possibly derived from the town, Achio, near Guadalajara in Mexico. The name itself is probably from the Nahuatl achio meaning "frequent".
AcunaSpanish (Latin American) Related tho the Acuna Indians of Mexico, there is also a city by the name. Popular in border areas of Mexico and Texas.
ÁguilaSpanish From águila "eagle" (Latin aquila). This is either a nickname for a haughty man or one with an aquiline nose, or a habitational name from a place in Salamanca province called Águila.
AguileraSpanish Habitational name from a location in Soria province, Spain, named Aguilera, derived from Spanish aguilera meaning "eagle's nest". A famous bearer is American singer Christina Aguilera (1980-).
AlamedaSpanish Topographic name from alameda meaning ‘poplar grove’, a collective form of álamo meaning ‘poplar’, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with this word.
AlanísSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Andalusian municipality.
AlarcónSpanish Alarcón was a fort owned by the arabs in the Iberian Peninsula (Alarcón literally meaning 'the fort' in arabic), and the spaniards had the goal of owning it during the spanish reconquista. After 9 months of siege, Fernán Martínez de Ceballos climbed the walls of the fort using only two daggers and opened the gates from the inside allowing the castillan army to come in and conquer Alarcón... [more]
AlaridSpanish (Mexican) (via Ancestry.com) perhaps from Catalan alarit 'outcry' (Castilian alarido). This name is not found in Catalonia, but is very common in Mexico.
AlcaláSpanish From numerous towns with this name (fortified villages during the Moorish occupation of Spain), derived from Arabic القلعة (al-qalʿah) meaning "fortress, fortification, citadel".
AlcántaraSpanish Habitational name denoting someone originally from the municipality of Alcántara in Extremadura, Spain. The name is ultimately derived from Arabic اَلْقَنْطَرَة (al-qanṭara) meaning "the bridge".
AlhambraSpanish Refers to the Alhambra, a palace complex located in Granada, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic الْحَمْرَاء (Al-Ḥamrā) meaning "the red one" or, ultimately, from Arabic أَحْمَر (ʾaḥmar) "red".
AlmanzaSpanish Originally indicated a person from Almanza, a city in northern Spain. The city's name itself is derived from Arabic المنزل (al-manzil) meaning "the house".
AlmarzaSpanish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 localities: the Castilian municipality of Almarza, Comarca of El Valle or the Riojan municipality of Almarza de Cameros.
AlmazánSpanish Habitational name demoting someone originally from the municipality of Almazán in Castile and León, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic المكان المحصن (al-makān al-ḥiṣn) meaning "the fortified place" or "the stronghold".
AlmenaraSpanish Almenara in Spanish is "beacon", but it is an old kind of beacon that consisted of a fire that was lit on top of the battlements to give a signal.
AlmodovarSpanish Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (1949-) is a Spanish filmmaker, director, screenwriter, producer, and former actor who was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain. His films are marked by his employment of certain actors and creative personnel, complex narratives, melodrama, pop culture, popular songs, irreverent humor, strong colors, and glossy décor... [more]
AlmogueraSpanish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
AlmonteSpanish From a place between Huelva and Sevilla. Means "the mountain".
AlpízarSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous locality in the Andalusian province of Huelva.
AmbrìzSpanish " Probably a variant of Asturian-Leonese Ambres, a habitational name from a village in Asturies. Also a habitational name of Ámbriz a city in Angola, Africa, mainly of Portuguese descendants. "
AndújarSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Andalusian municipality.
AngelSpanish, Catalan, Occitan, English, Slovene From the Latin personal name Angelus meaning "Angel", derived from the Greek word ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger" (see the given name Angel).
ApolloItalian, Spanish From the Greek personal name Apollo. There are several saints Apollo in the Christian Church, including an Egyptian hermit and monastic leader who died in 395 ad. The personal name derives from the name in classical mythology of the sun god, Apollo, an ancient Indo-European name, found for example in Hittite as Apulana "god of the gate" (from pula "gate", cognate with Greek pylē), therefore "protector, patron".
AponteSpanish A misdivision of Daponte. It originates from Majorca, Spain.
AràbiaItalian, Spanish Ethnic name for someone from Arabia or some other Arabic-speaking country or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries.
ArandsEnglish, Spanish Anglicized version of a name given to residents of Aranda de Duero, a small town in the north of Spain.
AraquistainBasque, Spanish ''Place of the ferns'' in Basque. It first appeared when a family arrived for the first time to a part of the Pyrenees where they where a lot of ferns. Then, that family, changed their last name to ''Araquistain'' which means ''place of the ferns'' in basque.
ArellanoBasque, Spanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
ArencibiaSpanish Castilianized combination of the basque words of aranz meaning "thorn"; "hawthorn" + ibi meaning "ford" + a (basque article suffix); meaning someone living by a thorny ford. A "ford" is a body of water shallow enough to walk through; In this context topographically referring to a some places in Spain
ArmasSpanish Occupational name for an arms maker or soldier, from Spanish armas meaning "arms, weapons".
ArmendarizSpanish, Basque from the Basque personal name Armendari or Armentari, from Latin Armentarius 'herdsman'. Spanish and French variant of Armendaritze, a habitational name from a village in Low Navarre named Armendaritze.
ArmeniaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]
ArmenterosSpanish Habitational name from either of two places called Armenteros, in the provinces of Ávila and Salamanca, from the plural of armenatero meaning ‘cowherd’, from Latin armenta ‘herd(s)’.
ArmijoSpanish Derived from the Spanish adjetive "armigero", meaning "one who bears arms". First found in the Northern Region of Spain in Cantabria. Alternate spellings include: Armijos, Armigo, and Armija.
AscencioSpanish, Italian From the personal name (Latin Ascensius), favored by the early Christians, by whom it was bestowed with reference to the ascension of Christ (Late Latin ascensio).
AsunciónSpanish Means "assumption" in Spanish, referring to the bodily taking up of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The unaccented form, Asuncion, is much more common.
AvamilanoSpanish, Italian Of Spanish origin, but probably has its roots in Italy due to the word "milano" which means Milan in Italian.
AveiroPortuguese, Spanish Demonymic surname refering to Aveiro a city in middle north-eastern Portugal. A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
AvellanedaSpanish It literally means "hazelnut grove", denoting someone who either lived near one or worked in one.
AvenaSpanish, Italian A traditionally Spanish and Italian occupational surname for a "grain grower or merchant", or the Italian habitation surname for Avena, Calabria. Means "oats". From the Latin avēna meaning 'oats, wild oats, straw'.
Azuaje-fidalgoPortuguese (Rare), Spanish, Italian Fidalgo from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo — equivalent to "nobleman", but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility... [more]
BadilloSpanish Topographic name from a diminutive of vado ‘ford’ (Latin vadum) or a habitational name from either of two places named with this word: Valillo de la Guarena in Zamora province or Vadillo de al Sierra in Ávila.
BaezSpanish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Spanish Báez, which might be a different form of Peláez (cf. Páez). A famous bearer is American singer and activist Joan Baez (1941-).... [more]
BaezaSpanish From a place called Baeza in Andalusia, Spain.
BahamondeSpanish, Galician Derived from Baamonde (officially called Santiago de Baamonde), a town and parish in the municipality of Begonte in the province of Lugo, in Galicia, Spain. This surname was borne by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco Bahamonde (1892-1975), better known as Francisco Franco.
BalaguerCatalan, Spanish, Filipino Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Balaguer in Catalonia, Spain.
BallonSpanish Theoretically it could be a variant of vallón, from valle ‘valley’, but neither form is attested as a vocabulary word or as a place name element. Alternatively, it could be a Castilian spelling of Catalan Batlló, Balló, nicknames from diminutives of batlle ‘dancing’.English: variant spelling of Balon.
BanezSpanish Spanish (Báñez): shortened form of Ibáñez
BanuelosSpanish Spanish (Bañuelos): habitational name from any of various places, primarily Bañuelos de Bureba in Burgos, named for their public baths, from a diminutive of baños ‘baths’ (see Banos)
BarberoSpanish Spanish occupational name for a barber-surgeon (see Barber), Spanish barbero, from Late Latin barbarius, a derivative of barba ‘beard’ (Latin barba).
BarcelonaCatalan, Spanish Habitational name from Barcelona, the principal city of Catalonia. The place name is of uncertain, certainly pre-Roman, origin. The settlement was established by the Carthaginians, and according to tradition it was named for the Carthaginian ruling house of Barca; the Latin form was Barcino or Barcilo.
BárcenasSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Espinosa de los Monteros.
BarreraSpanish, Catalan Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a gate or fence, from Spanish and Catalan barrera meaning "barrier", or a topographic name for someone who lived by a clay pit, from Spanish barrero, derived from the Spanish word barro meaning "mud, clay".
BarriosSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named with Spanish barrio "outlying suburb (especially an impoverished one), slum", from Arabic barr "suburb, dependent village". It may also be a topographic name for someone originating from a barrio.
BatresSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
BavieraSpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
BaylonSpanish Spanish: variant of Bailón ( see Bailon ).
BeaSpanish Habitational name from a place of this name in Teruel.
BeasSpanish (Mexican) Spanish (common in Mexico): habitational name from any of the places in Andalusia named Beas.
BocanegraSpanish Spanish: nickname from boca ‘mouth’ + negra ‘black’, denoting a foul-mouthed or abusive person. In the form Boccanegra, this surname has also been long established in Italy.
BohórquezSpanish Denoted a person from Bohorques, a minor place in the Spanish province of Santander.
BolarSpanish Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of soil of a particular type known as tierra bolar.
BombaPortuguese, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak From bomba "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BonbaBasque, Spanish From Basque bonba meaning "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BorgesPortuguese, Spanish Possibly from Old French burgeis meaning "town-dweller" (see Burgess). Alternately, it may have denoted someone originally from the city of Bourges in France.
BravoSpanish, Spanish (Mexican), Portuguese From a Spanish and Portuguese nickname for a fierce or violent man (from Spanish and Portuguese bravo "fierce, violent"). This surname was borne by Charles Bravo (1845-1876), a British lawyer and possible murder victim.