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.
Aveiro Portuguese, Spanish
Demonymic surname refering to Aveiro a city in middle north-eastern Portugal. A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Avelar Portuguese
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Ansião.
Avelino Spanish, Polynesian, Filipino
Spanish form of Avellino, the surname of the 17th-century Italian saint Andrew Avellino.
Avellaneda Spanish
It literally means "hazelnut grove", denoting someone who either lived near one or worked in one.
Avena Spanish, 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'.
Avenida Spanish (Latin American)
The name translates to English, meaning "avenue."
Ayllón Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
Azinheira Portuguese
Originates from the Portuguese word "azinheira," which refers to the evergreen oak tree known as the "holm oak"
Aznar Spanish
Aznar is a Spanish surname of Basque origin and an obsolete given name. It probably stems from old Basque "azenar(i)" ('fox', modern "azeri").
Azuaje-fidalgo Portuguese (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]
Baamonde Spanish
habitational name from one of the Galician places called Baamonde (earlier written Bahamonde) in the province of Lugo most probably Santiago de Baamonde (Begonte).
Baca Spanish
From Spanish vaca meaning "cow".
Badillo Spanish
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.
Badillo Spanish
One who came from Badillo (small ford), in Spain. This looks like the diminutive form of "badil" meaning a fire shovel. "Badillo" comes from "vado" meaning a place to cross the river. Other Spanish names from this name source are Vado, Bado and Vadillo.
Baez Spanish (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]
Baeza Spanish
From a place called Baeza in Andalusia, Spain.
Bahamonde Spanish, Galician
Derived from Baamonde (officially called Santiago de Baamonde), a town and parish 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.
Bahena Spanish
Altered form of the Spanish Baena.
Balaguer Catalan, Spanish, Filipino
Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Balaguer in Catalonia, Spain.
Balbino Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
From the given name Balbino.
Baldo Italian, Spanish
From the given name Baldo.
Baldomero Spanish
From the given name Baldomero.
Baldovino Spanish
Hispanic (mainly Philippines and Colombia) and Italian: from the personal name Baldovino from ancient Germanic Baldowin (see Baldwin ).
Ballon Spanish
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.
Balmaceda Spanish, Basque
From Balmaseda, the name of a town and municipality in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is derived from Spanish val meaning "valley" and Basque mahatseta meaning "vineyard"... [more]
Baltasar Spanish
From the given name Baltasar.
Baltazar Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Baltazar.
Balza Spanish (Archaic), Belgian (Archaic), Filipino (Hispanicized, Archaic)
Derivation (Belzer, Balzac, Balzer, etc.) of the given name Balthazar, meaning "one of the three wise men."
Bandeira Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Bandera.
Bandera Spanish, Italian
Status name for a bearer of flags or standards, from Spanish bandera meaning "flag, banner". It is also a variant of Italian Bandiera, a cognate of the Spanish name.
Banegas Spanish
Spanish: variant of Benegas a patronymic composed of Arabic or Jewish ben 'son' + the medieval personal name Egas .
Banez Spanish
Spanish (Báñez): shortened form of Ibáñez
Banuelos Spanish
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)
Barajas Spanish
Habitational name from any of several places in Spain, of uncertain etymology. Coincides with Spanish barajas meaning "playing cards" or "quarrels".
Barba Spanish
Spanish: nickname for a man noted for his beard, from barba ‘beard’ (Latin barba).
Barbero Spanish
Spanish occupational name for a barber-surgeon (see Barber), Spanish barbero, from Late Latin barbarius, a derivative of barba ‘beard’ (Latin barba).
Barbosa Portuguese
denoting a person who lived by land that contained overgrown leafy vegetation from the portuguese word barba "leaf" + oso/osa (adjective suffix); variant of Barboza
Barcelona Catalan, 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.
Bárcenas Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Espinosa de los Monteros.
Barón Spanish
nickname from the title barón "baron" applied as a nickname or as an occupational name for a member of the household of a baron; or from an old personal name of the same origin in the sense "free man"... [more]
Barreira Portuguese, Galician
From several habitations in Galicia and Portugal, from barreira meaning "clay or loam hollow".
Barreiro Galician, Portuguese
Barreiro is a habitational name from any of numerous places in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal named with a derivative of barro 'clay loam'.
Barreiros Portuguese, Galician
Habitational name from any of various places in Galicia called Barreiros, from Portuguese and Galician barreiro meaning "slough, clay".
Barreto Portuguese
Occupational name for a cap maker. Comes from barreto which means ‘cap’.
Barria Spanish
Variant of Barrio.
Barrientos Spanish
Habitational name from a place in León named Barrientos, possibly derived from an Asturleonese word meaning "loamy".
Barrios Spanish
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.
Barroso Spanish, Portuguese
Derived from the Spanish word 'barrera' which means 'barrier'.
Bartolomé Spanish
From the given name Bartolomé.
Basileo Galician, Italian, Spanish
From the given name Basileo.
Basilio Italian, Spanish
From the given name Basilio.
Baskir Turkish (Rare), South American (Rare)
Used by Jewish families that were running away from anti-semites. It's meaning is 'printer' or 'pressures are...'
Bastardo Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (Rare)
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian form of Bastard.
Bastían Spanish
From the given name Bastían.
Bastidas Spanish
Possibly related to the French word "bastide", referring to fortified towns built in Southern France in the Middle Ages.... [more]
Batista Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese cognate of Bautista as well as a Spanish variant.
Batres Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
Baviera Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan
Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
Baylon Spanish
Spanish: variant of Bailón ( see Bailon ).
Bea Spanish
Habitational name from a place of this name in Teruel.
Beatriz Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Beatriz.
Becerra Spanish, Galician
Nickname probably for a high-spirited person from becerra "young cow, heifer". It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a cowherd.
Bedoya Spanish
Castilianized form of Bedoia. Name for someone from Bedoña, in the Spanish province Gipuzkoa. Bedoña likely comes from Basque bedi "pasture grazing" and -oña, suffix for a place name.
Bega Spanish
Variant of Vega.
Bejar Spanish
From the town of the same name in Spain
Belalcázar Spanish
It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Andalusian municipality with the coordinates 38°34′31″N 5°10′02″W.
Belchior Portuguese
From the given name Belchior.
Belisario Italian, Spanish
From the given name Belisario.
Belrio Spanish
From the Spanish word meaning "beautiful river".
Beltrán Spanish
From the given name Beltrán.
Benavides Spanish
Patronymic name from the Medieval personal name Ben Avid, of Arabic origin, derived from ibn Abd meaning "son of the servant of God".
Benedito Portuguese
From the given name Benedito.
Benício Portuguese (Brazilian)
Spanish form of Benedict, from the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". A notable bearer is Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro (born 1967).
Benigno Spanish, Italian
From the given name Benigno.
Benitez Spanish (Americanized), Filipino
Unaccented form of Benítez primarily used in America and the Philippines.
Bentaberry French, Spanish (Latin American), Basque
From Basque Bentaberri or Bentaberria, both common place names in Basque Country meaning "new inn".
Bentancur Spanish
One of the variants of Bettencourt or Bethencourt.
Berlanga Spanish
From the village or castle named "Berlanga de Duero" from Soria, Spain. Berlanga itself was derived from "berlain" which comes from the name of a precious stone derived from the Greek. So it could be related to stones.
Bermejo Spanish
Originally a nickname for a man with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Spanish bermejo "reddish, ruddy" (itself from Latin vermiculus "little worm", from vermis "worm", since a crimson dye was obtained from the bodies of worms).
Bermudo Spanish
From the given name Bermudo.
Bernárdez Spanish
Means "son of Bernardo".
Bernardez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Bernárdez.
Berruguete Spanish
From Catalan berruga "wart", possibly denoting a person who has warts or lives in a warty place.
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]
Bezerra Portuguese
Means "young cow, heifer" in Portuguese.
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.
Bienvenido Spanish
From the given name Bienvenido.
Bilbao Spanish
Spanish: Habitational Name From The City Of Bilbao In Biscay Basque Country.
Bispo Portuguese
Means "bishop" in Portuguese, ultimately from Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos).
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]
Blancanieves Spanish (Rare)
Means "Snow White" in Spanish.
Blancarte Spanish
Likely a variant of Blanchard.
Blaque Spanish, Catalan
Variant of "Llaquet". It could also be a Catalan variant of Black
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'.
Bocachica Spanish (Latin American)
Literally means "little mouth" in Spanish. It could have been given to someone who had a small mouth or a small jaw, or to someone who was known for having a quiet and reserved speaking style. It could also have been a nickname given to someone who had a small but sweet smile.
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.
Bolaño Spanish
Is a Hispanic surname derived from the spanish word for "stone cannonball" or "stoneshot".
Bolar Spanish
Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of soil of a particular type known as tierra bolar.
Bolsonaro Portuguese (Brazilian)
Brazilian Portuguese cognate of Bolzonaro; in the case of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (1955-), his Italian great-grandfather had the spelling changed from Bolzonaro upon emigrating to Brazil in the late 19th century.
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.
Bona Spanish
Spanish surname of unknown origin maybe from given name Bona. Spanish Singer Juanjo Bona has this surname
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.
Bordaberry French, Spanish (Latin American), Basque
From Basque Bordaberri or Bordaberria, both widespread place names meaning "new hut/sheepfold/farm".
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.
Borquez Spanish
Likely shortened from Bohórquez.
Borrero Spanish
Occupational name from borrero 'executioner'.
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.
Botella Spanish
From the Spanish word meaning "Bottle".
Bracamontes Spanish
Probably a habitational name from the French town of Bracquemont near Dieppe.
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, Central African
from the the portuguese word Branco meaning "white", referring to someone with light skin and/or hair
Brandão Portuguese
From the given name Brandão (see Brendan).
Brando Italian, Portuguese
from the ancient Germanic (Langobardic) personal name Brando a short form of various compound personal names formed with brand "sword" particularly Aldobrando and Ildebrando... [more]
Brasil Portuguese
Ethnic name for an inhabitant of Brazil, a country in South America.
Bringas Basque, Spanish
Etymology unknown.
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.
Buendía Spanish
Probably a habitational name from Buendía in Cuenca province, Spain.
Bugalho Portuguese
Portuguese surname Bugalho can be written in two different ways, with a U or with a O after de first letter. This because of different pronunciation from South and North. So with U South and with O North.... [more]
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".
Burciaga Spanish
Hispanic (Mexico): Probably A Topographic Name Of Basque Origin But Unexplained Etymology.
Burgos Spanish
Surname from a place named Burgos of Spain.
Burruchaga Spanish, Basque (Hispanicized)
Altered form of Basque Burutxaga, a habitational name from a location in Navarre, Spain, possibly derived from buru "head; top, summit; leader, chief" or burutza "office of chief" combined with -aga "place of".
Bustamante Spanish
Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of Amantius".
Butragueño Spanish
Originally denoted someone from either the town of Buitrago del Lozoya in Madrid, or from the village of Buitrago in Soria, Castile and León in Spain, both derived Spanish buitre meaning "vulture" (see Buitrago)... [more]
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’.
Cabeleira Portuguese
Likely originates from the Portuguese word "cabeleira," which means "head of hair" or "hairpiece." It might have been used as a nickname to describe someone with a notable or distinctive head of hair... [more]
Cabeza De Vaca Spanish
Literally translates to "cow's head" or "head of a cow". It is likely an occupational name for someone who was associated with cows or cattle, perhaps as a rancher or butcher. Alternatively, it could also have been used to describe someone with a thick-headed or stubborn personality.
Cadena Spanish
From Aguilar de Campoo, a district of Villalon in Valladolid.
Cadiñanos Spanish
It indicates familial origin within the eponymous minor local entity.
Cádiz Spanish
Habitational name for a person from the city of Cádiz in southwestern Spain.
Caetano Portuguese
From the given name Caetano.
Cahué Spanish
Variant of Cahuet.
Caixeta Portuguese (Brazilian)
Portuguese common name for Tabebuia cassinoides, a tree native to Central and South America.
Cajavilca Quechua
From kaja (cold) and vilca (supreme) meaning supreme cold. Possibly when the inhabitants of upper Chavín had to cross to the Callejón de Huaylas by the pass near Ulta they described this place as being too cold... [more]
Cajigas Spanish, Filipino
Topographic name from the plural of Spanish cajigo, derived from quejigo meaning "gall oak".
Caju Portuguese (Brazilian)
Means "cashew, cashew tree" in Portuguese.
Calabaza Spanish, Indigenous American
Nickname from ‘calabaza’ meaning pumpkin squash. This is commonly used by Pueblos (Native Americans) in New Mexico.
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.
Caldeira Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Caldera.
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.
Calero Spanish
Metonymic occupational name for a burner or seller of lime, from calero ‘lime’.
California Spanish (Latin American)
It is thought that it might've been derived from Latin calida fornax meaning "hot furnace", or from Native American, kali forno meaning "high hill, native land". It is also thought to have derived from the given name Khalif or Khalifa.
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.
Calzadilla Spanish
habitational name from any of the places called (La) Calzadilla, named with a diminutive of calzada 'paved road'
Calzado Spanish
Means "calced" in Spanish.
Cámara Spanish
Occupational name for a courtier or servant who could access the private quarters of a king or noble, from Spanish cámara meaning "room, chamber".
Câmara Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Cámara.
Camarena Spanish
Topographic name for someone who lived by a granary.
Camargo Spanish
Habitational name for someone from a place in Andalusia called Camargo.
Camargodeabreu Portuguese (Brazilian, Portuguese-style, Archaic)
An old and wealthy family from the southern region of Brazil in Paraná and the Ribeira valley.
Camilo Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Camilo.
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