South American Submitted Surnames

South American names include those from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
usage
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Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Berto Italian, Spanish
From the given name Berto.
Bessa Portuguese
Origin in the name Beça surname of medieval ancestry
Betances Spanish, American (Hispanic)
Unexplained; probably related to Betanzos, the name of a town near A Coruña in Galicia.
Beteta Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
Bethencourt French, English, Portuguese (Rare)
Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
Bettencourt French, English, Portuguese (Rare)
Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
Bezos Spanish
From bezo meaning "thick lips" in Spanish, referring to a person with blubber or thick lips.
Bibiano Spanish
From the given name Bibiano.
Bitencourt Brazilian, Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), English
BITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
Biurrarena Spanish, Basque
Means apple in Basque.
Blancanieves Spanish (Rare)
Means "Snow White" in Spanish.
Blas Spanish
From the given name Blas.
Blasquez Spanish
From the medieval diminutive Velasco, from the Basque word 'bela' meaning "crow", and the diminutive suffix 'sko'.
Bocanegra Spanish
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.
Bocorny Brazilian (Latinized, Rare)
Brazilian corrupted form of Pokorny.
Bohórquez Spanish
Denoted a person from Bohorques, a minor place in the Spanish province of Santander.
Bolar Spanish
Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of soil of a particular type known as tierra bolar.
Bomba Portuguese, 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.
Bonba Basque, 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.
Bonifacio Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Bonifacio.
Bonilla Spanish
From the area of Spain of the same name
Bonito Italian, Spanish
From the given name Bonito.
Borges Portuguese, 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.
Botelho Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian)
From the Portuguese word botelho, which can denote a measure of grain, a grain sack, or seaweed, and was probably applied as an occupational name for a grain dealer or a gatherer of kelp or seaweed.
Braga Portuguese
The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
Bragado Portuguese, Spanish
This surname is a Spanish word which means "gritty", refering to a bull. ... [more]
Bragança Portuguese
From the city of Bragança in Portugal. It's also the name of the Royal House that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910.
Branco Portuguese
from the the portuguese word Branco meaning "white", referring to someone with light skin and/or hair
Bravo Spanish, 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.
Briones Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
Brito Portuguese
The Brito family has its original roots in the village of Brito, around 1033 of the Christian era, where Dom Hero de Brito, lord of many estates in Oliveira, Carrazelo and Subilhães, all located between the Ave River and Portela dos Leitões, a very rich region and where the Solar dos Brito was located.
Brizuela Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Valdeporres.
Bruno Portuguese
From a Germanic personal name, Brun.
Buenaventura Spanish
Spanish: from the personal name Buenaventura meaning ‘good fortune’, bestowed as an omen name or with specific reference to the Italian bishop and theologian St Bonaventura (canonized in the 14th century).
Buendía Spanish
Probably a habitational name from Buendía in Cuenca province, Spain.
Bueno Spanish
generally an approving (or ironic) nickname, from Spanish bueno ‘good’.
Buitrago Spanish
This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous municipalities: the Castilian one in El Campo de Gómara or the Manchego municipality of Buitrago del Lozoya in Sierra Norte, Comunidad de Madrid.
Bulgaria Italian, Spanish
Originally an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Bulgaria or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
Burgos Spanish
Surname from a place named Burgos of Spain.
Burruchaga Spanish, Basque
From "Pais Vasco" in Spain.
Bustamante Spanish
Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of Amantius".
Cab Spanish
Diminutive of Cabello, Cabrera, or Cabral.
Caba Spanish, Catalan
Variant of Cava.
Cababa Spanish
Spanish (Cabaña) and Portuguese: habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna , a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
Cabaco Spanish, Filipino
From spanish word cabaco means "horse"
Caballé Spanish
Used by the Spanish Opera singer Montserrat Caballé.
Caballo Spanish, Spanish (Latin American)
Derived from the Spanish word cabello, ultimately derived from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse". This denoted someone who worked in a farm that took care of horses, or someone who had personality traits attributed to a horse, such as energetic behaviour.
Cabaña Spanish, Portuguese
Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
Cabañas Spanish, Portuguese
Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
Cadena Spanish
From Aguilar de Campoo, a district of Villalon in Valladolid.
Caetano Portuguese
From the given name Caetano.
Caixeta Portuguese (Brazilian)
Portuguese common name for Tabebuia cassinoides, a tree native to Central and South America.
Cajigas Spanish, Filipino
Topographic name from the plural of Spanish cajigo, derived from quejigo meaning "gall oak".
Calado Portuguese, Spanish (Philippines)
Menas "silent, quiet" in Portuguese and "soaked drenched" in Spanish.
Calatayud Spanish
From the city in Spain, in province of Zaragoza within the autonomous community Aragón. The name Calatayud came from the Arabic قلعة أيوب Qal‘at ’Ayyūb, "the qalat (fortress) of Ayyub".
Caldeira Portuguese
Name given to a maker of kettles or other cooking vessels.
Caldeirao Portuguese
From Portuguese meaning "cauldron".
Caldera Spanish
Derived from Spanish caldera meaning "basin, crater, hollow", ultimately from Latin caldarium or caldaria both meaning "hot bath, cooking pot". The word also denotes a depression in volcanoes, and it is commonly used as an element for surnames denoting streams or mountains.
Calderón Spanish
Occupational name for a tinker or a seller or maker of kettles from Vulgar Latin *caldaria meaning "cauldron". Alternately, it may be a habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Calderón or a topographic name from Spanish caldera meaning "crater, basin".
Calero Spanish
Metonymic occupational name for a burner or seller of lime, from calero ‘lime’.
Calisto Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Calisto.
Calixto Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Calixto
Calvete Spanish
It means bald. It's a surname of the Galician origin.
Calzada Spanish (Latin American)
Means "road" in Spanish.
Calzado Spanish
Means "calced" in Spanish.
Camacho Spanish, Portuguese
From the ancient European camb, meaning twisted or disfigured, denoting to someone with visible physical abnormalities, but could possibly also refer to residents of a particularly gnarly tract of land.
Camarena Spanish
Topographic name for someone who lived by a granary.
Camargo Spanish
Habitational name for someone from a place in Andalusia called Camargo.
Camilo Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Camilo.
Camino Spanish
Derived from the Spanish word for "path", or "walkway". This could have been used to denote a person who lived near a path, or one who built paths for a living.
Campus Spanish
Derived from the Latin word campus, meaning "field". It denoted someone who either lived in a field or worked in one.
Canabrava Brazilian
Cana is the short form of 'cana de açucar' that means "sugar cane", and Brava is the feminine form of 'bravo' that means "angry". There is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, called Canabrava do Norte, and according to oral tradition, the origin of the name is due to the disease and subsequent death of some animals after eating a plantation of sugar cane.
Canales Spanish
Spanish: habitational name from any of several places called Canales, from canales, plural of canal ‘canal’, ‘water channel’, from Latin canalis.
Cancino Spanish
A name for a person who first held the position of Chancellor.
Cancio Spanish
A name for a person who first held the position of Chancellor.
Candelario Spanish
From the given name Candelario
Canela Spanish
Derived from the word 'canela' meaning cinnamon in Spanish. It Could also be a variant of the Catalan surname Candela.
Canelo Spanish
From spanish canela meaning "cinnamon".
Cañete Spanish (Philippines), Spanish (Latin American)
Habitational name for a person from any of the places in Spain called Cañete, such as Cañete de las Torres (Seville), Cañete la Real (Málaga) and Cañete (Cuenca).
Cangussu Brazilian
The surname Cangussu has its origins in the Tupi-Guarani language and is a variation of Akangu’su, which means 'Jaguar'.
Canhoto Portuguese
Means "left-handed" in Portuguese.
Canizales Spanish (Latin American)
This surname came from around the beginnings of 1800 in south regions of Colombia where sugar cane was cultivated. It's a variation of Cañizales, that literally means "sugar cane fields".
Canomanuel Spanish
The first part of this surname is possibly derived from Spanish cano "hoary, white-haired, grey-haired". The second part is derived from the given name Manuel... [more]
Cantor Spanish
Occupational name for a singer.
Caraballo Spanish
Occupational name for a knight or a knight's servant.
Carbajal Spanish, Judeo-Spanish
Probably a habitational name demoting someone originally from any of the multiple locations called Carbajal in León, Asturias, or Zamora in Spain. Alternatively, it may be of pre-Roman origin from the word carbalio meaning "oak", denoting someone who either lived near an oak tree or who was like an oak tree in some way.... [more]
Carbonero Spanish
Famous bearers are Carlos Carbonero, a Colombian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sampdoria on loan from Fénix and Sara Carbonero, a Spanish sports journalist.
Carcelén Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
Cardenal Spanish, Spanish (Latin American)
Spanish cognitive of Cardinal. This surname is common in Nicaragua.
Cárdenas Spanish
Habitational name from places in the provinces of Almería and Logroño named Cárdenas, from the feminine plural of cárdeno "blue, bluish purple" (Late Latin cardinus, from carduus "thistle")... [more]
Cardenete Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
Cardinal English, French, Dutch, Spanish
English, French, Spanish, and Dutch: from Middle English, Old French cardinal "cardinal", a church dignitary (Latin cardinalis, originally an adjective meaning "crucial")... [more]
Carillo Spanish, Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Caro.
Carino Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Carino.
Carlos Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Carlos
Carmona Spanish
Habitational name from any of various locations named Carmona, derived from Phonecian qʾrt-ḥmn meaning "city of Hammon" (the name of a Carthaginian deity).
Carneiro Portuguese (Brazilian)
Originally from Portugal.
Carpintero Spanish
Means "carpenter" in Spanish
Carrera Spanish, Italian
Spanish: topographic name for someone living by a main road, carrera ‘thoroughfare’, originally a road passable by vehicles as well as pedestrians (Late Latin carraria (via), a derivative of carrum ‘cart’), or a habitational name from any of various places named with this word.... [more]
Carrillo Spanish
Means "cheek, jaw" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a person with a distinctive cheek or jaw.
Carrión Spanish
It comes from the knight Alonso Carreño, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the town of Carrión de los Condes (Palencia), where he founded his solar house.
Cartagena Spanish
From the name of the city of Cartagena in southeastern Spain, derived from Latin Carthāgō Nova meaning "New Carthage" (ultimately derived from Phonecian qrt-ḥdšt meaning "new city").
Casa Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Means "house" in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.
Casabuena Spanish (Modern, Rare)
Means "Happy House" or "House of Happiness" in Spanish, with the Spanish word "Casa", which means "House" and Buena, meaning "Happy" or "Happiness".
Casares Spanish, Galician
One who lived in several places named "Casares".
Cascalho Portuguese (?)
What I know about this surname is that it came from Alentejo, a region in Portugal countryside. The eldest Cascalho I know lived in Évora (city in this province) so I assume the name born there...
Casiano Spanish
From the given name Casiano.
Casillas Spanish
From any of various places called Casillas or Las Casillas, from the plural of casilla, a diminutive of Casa. ... [more]
Casio Spanish
From the given name Casio.
Cassatta Spanish (Latin American)
Spanish form of Cassata. Mostly used in Argentina.
Castanati Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish Origins
Castañeda Spanish
Habitational name from any of various places called Castañeda, a Spanish word meaning "chesnut grove", itself derived from castaña meaning "chesnut".
Castanheira Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Castañeda meaning "chestnut grove".
Castanho Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Castaño meaning "chestnut tree".
Castaño Spanish, Galician
Means "chestnut tree" in Spanish and Galician.
Castellanos Spanish
Habitational name from any of various places called Castellanos, derived from Spanish castellano meaning "Castilian".
Castelli Italki (Italian Jew), Semitic, Italian, Spanish
Italian patronymic or plural form of Castello. ... [more]
Castelo Branco Portuguese
Means “White Castle” in Portuguese.... [more]
Catarino Spanish, Portuguese, Greek
Meaning "pure".
Cava Italian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese
From cava ‘cave’, ‘cellar’ (from Latin cavea), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in the wine cellars of a great house, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a cave, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.
Cebreiro Jewish, Portuguese
Cebreiro is an olive tree.
Cebrián Spanish
From the given name Cebrián.
Ceja Spanish
From a common field name or a habitational name from any of various minor places called Ceja Yecla in Aragon.
Celda Spanish (Modern, Rare), Filipino (Modern, Rare)
The Spanish word for 'cell', as in prison cell.
Celedonio Spanish
From the given name Celedonio.
Celino Italian, Spanish
From the given name Celino
Celio Italian, Spanish
From the given name Celio
Celso Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Celso
Cendejas Spanish
Cendejas is a city in Guadalahara. It is short for Cendejas de la Torre.
Cenobio Spanish
From the given name Cenobio.
Cepeda Spanish
A nickname for someone from the region where they grow vineyards.
Cera Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Sicilian
Metonymic occupational name for a wax seller, derived from Latin cera meaning "wax".
Cerqueira Portuguese
Habitational name from any of various places named Cerquerira, in most cases from a Latin derivative of quercus "oak". The family name also occurs in Sicily, probably of the same origin.
Cerrajero Spanish
Occupational name for a locksmith.
Cerva Portuguese, Italian
"Cerva" means deer.
Cespedes Spanish
From the plural of cesped "peat", "turf" (Latin caespes, genitive caespitis), applied as a habitational name from a place named Céspedes (for example in Burgos province) or named with this word, or a topographic name for someone who lived by an area of peat, or possibly as a metonymic occupational name for someone who cut and sold turf.
Chacon Spanish
Spanish (Chacón): nickname from chacón ‘gecko’.
Chapin French, Spanish
From a reduced form of French eschapin or Spanish chapín, a term for a light (woman's) shoe; perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore this type of footwear or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker.
Charlo Spanish
From the personal name Carlos
Chica Spanish
Apparently from chica, feminine form of chico ‘small’, ‘young’ (see Chico), but a variant of the habitational name Checa, from a place so named in Jaén province is also a possibility.
Chiclana Spanish
This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous Andalusian municipalities: Chiclana de la Frontera or Chiclana de Segura.
Chido Spanish
Likely given to someone who lived in a cold environment
Chieco Spanish
derives from Franciscus (Frank) ... first searching for it, the SE thought I might actually have meant Chico
Chinchilla Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Spanish town of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in the province of Albacete. The place name is possibly of Arabic origin.
Cintron Spanish
Spanish form for the french "Citroen". Original from Puerto Rico.
Ciria Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
Ciriaco Italian, Spanish
From the given name Ciriaco.
Cirino Italian, Spanish
From the given name Cirino.
Ciro Italian, Spanish
From the given name Ciro.
Cirujano Spanish, Filipino
Means "surgeon" in Spanish, used for someone who was a surgeon by profession.
Cisneros Spanish
Habitational name from Cisneros, a place in the province of Palencia, named with a derivative of Spanish cisne 'swan' (via Old French and Latin from Greek kyknos).
Claudio Italian, Spanish
From the given name Claudio
Clavel Spanish
Metonymic occupational name for a spice trader or a nail maker, derived from Spanish clavel or Catalan clavell meaning "nail", later also "clove", itself a derivative of Latin clavellus "nail".
Cleto Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Cleto.
Clores Spanish, Portuguese
Portuguese form of Flores
Codorniz Spanish
Spanish word for quail. From Latin cōturnīx, cōturnīcis.
Colegio Spanish
Literally means "college" in Spanish.
Collado Spanish
Referred to someone who lived on a hill.
Colmenares Spanish
It literally means "apiaries", denoting someone who either worked at some or lived near some.
Colon Spanish (Americanized), Filipino
Unaccented form of Colón primarily used in America and the Philippines.
Conceição Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Concepción.
Concepción Spanish
Means "conception'' in Spanish, in reference to the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary.
Concepcion Spanish (Filipinized)
Unaccented form of Concepción primarily used in the Philippines and America.
Conde Spanish
1 Spanish and Portuguese: “nickname from the title of rank conde ‘count’, a derivative of Latin comes, comitis ‘companion’.”... [more]
Conejo Spanish
Spanish for rabbit from Latin "cuniculus". Given to someone who hunted rabbits.
Conrado Spanish
From the given name Conrado
Contardo Italian, Spanish
From the given name Contardo.
Corcovado Spanish
Means "hunchback" in Spanish. It would denote a person with a curved spine.
Cordeiro Portuguese, Galician
Means "young lamb" in Portuguese and Galician (Latin cordarius, a derivative of cordus "young", "new")... [more]
Cordero Spanish
Means "lamb" in Spanish, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a religious name referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
Córdoba Spanish
Indicates someone who was originally from the city of Córdoba (Cordova) in Andalusia, Spain. The name itself is derived from Phonecian Qʾrtuba meaning "Juba’s city", itself from Phonecian qʾrt meaning "city" and juba referring to King Juba I of Numidia.
Coreano Filipino, Spanish, Portuguese
Means "Korean" in Spanish and Portuguese, possibly an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Korea or who had connections with Korea.
Coronado Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic), Spanish (Philippines)
Means "crowned." This was possibly a nickname for one resembling a clergyman who has received the tonsure.
Corrales Spanish
Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations named Corrales in Spain, from Spanish corral meaning "coral, enclosure".
Corso Italian, English (American), Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Either derived from the given name Bonaccorso or taken from Italian and Spanish corso, denoting someone who lived in Corsica.
Corte Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese
From corte ‘court', applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
Cortês Portuguese
Portuguese form of Cortés.
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