South American names include those from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BaldovinoSpanish Hispanic (mainly Philippines and Colombia) and Italian: from the personal name Baldovino from ancient Germanic Baldowin (see Baldwin ).
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.
BalmacedaSpanish, 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]
BanderaSpanish, 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.
BanegasSpanish Spanish: variant of Benegas a patronymic composed of Arabic or Jewish ben 'son' + the medieval personal name Egas .
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)
BarbaSpanish Spanish: nickname for a man noted for his beard, from barba ‘beard’ (Latin barba).
BarberoSpanish Spanish occupational name for a barber-surgeon (see Barber), Spanish barbero, from Late Latin barbarius, a derivative of barba ‘beard’ (Latin barba).
BarbosaPortuguese 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
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.
BarreiroGalician, Portuguese Barreiro is a habitational name from any of numerous places in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal named with a derivative of barro 'clay loam'.
BarreirosPortuguese, Galician Habitational name from any of various places in Galicia called Barreiros, from Portuguese and Galician barreiro meaning "slough, clay".
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".
BarretoPortuguese Occupational name for a cap maker. Comes from barreto which means ‘cap’.
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.
BecerraSpanish, 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.
BedoyaSpanish 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.
BenícioPortuguese (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).
BerlangaSpanish 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.
BermejoSpanish 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).
BetetaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
BethencourtFrench, 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]
BettencourtFrench, 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]
BitencourtBrazilian, 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]
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.
BolarSpanish Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of soil of a particular type known as tierra bolar.
BolsonaroPortuguese (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.
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.
BorreroSpanish Occupational name from borrero 'executioner'.
BotelhoPortuguese, 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.
BracamontesSpanish Probably a habitational name from the French town of Bracquemont near Dieppe.
BragaPortuguese 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".
BrionesSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
BritoPortuguese 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.
BrizuelaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Valdeporres.
BuendíaSpanish Probably a habitational name from Buendía in Cuenca province, Spain.
BugalhoPortuguese 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]
BuitragoSpanish 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.
BulgariaItalian, 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".
BustamanteSpanish Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of Amantius".
ButragueñoSpanish Originally denoted someone who was from either the town of Buitrago del Lozoya in Madrid, or from Buitrago in Soria, Castile and León, Spain, both derived Spanish buitre meaning "vulture" (see Buitrago)... [more]
CababaSpanish 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).
CaballéSpanish Used by the Spanish Opera singer Montserrat Caballé.
CaballoSpanish, 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.
CabañaSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
CabañasSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
CabeleiraPortuguese 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]
CaixetaPortuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese common name for Tabebuia cassinoides, a tree native to Central and South America.
CajigasSpanish, Filipino Topographic name from the plural of Spanish cajigo, derived from quejigo meaning "gall oak".
CalabazaSpanish, Indigenous American Nickname from ‘calabaza’ meaning pumpkin squash. This is commonly used by Pueblos (Native Americans) in New Mexico.
CalatayudSpanish 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".
CaldeiraPortuguese Name given to a maker of kettles or other cooking vessels.
CalderaSpanish 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.
CámaraSpanish Occupational name for a courtier or servant who could access the private quarters of a king or noble, from Spanish cámara meaning "room, chamber".
CaminoSpanish 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.
CanabravaBrazilian 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.
CanalesSpanish Spanish: habitational name from any of several places called Canales, from canales, plural of canal ‘canal’, ‘water channel’, from Latin canalis.
CandelaSpanish, Italian, Sicilian, Catalan Either an occupational name for a chandler (a candle maker or candle seller) or a nickname for a tall thin person, derived from candela meaning "candle" (from Latin candela).
CanizalesSpanish (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".
CanomanuelSpanish 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]
CarbajalSpanish, Judeo-Spanish Probably a habitational name denoting 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]
CarboneroSpanish 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.
CarcelénSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
CardoSpanish, Italian From cardo "thistle, cardoon" (from Latin carduus) either a topographic or occupational name for using wool carder thistles, or from the given name Cardo a short form of given names Accardo, Biancardo, or Riccardo.
CarneiroPortuguese, Galician Means "ram" in Portuguese and Galician, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Carneiro.