{"id":35061,"date":"2018-08-09T10:41:35","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T14:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=35061"},"modified":"2023-03-31T10:40:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T14:40:27","slug":"spanish-last-names-their-meanings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/spanish-last-names-their-meanings.html","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Last Names &#038; Their Meanings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spanish last names are common around the world and have a vibrant history. They can be traced back to the days of ancient Rome, Visigothic invasions, and the Spanish Inquisition. Here are some of the most popular Spanish and Mexican last names, their meanings, and an explanation of how they came to be and the stories behind the names.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_35065\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35065\" style=\"width: 792px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-madrid-spain.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-35065\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-madrid-spain.png\" alt=\"Photo: Madrid, Spain\" width=\"792\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-madrid-spain.png 792w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-madrid-spain-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-madrid-spain-768x575.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35065\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Madrid, Spain. Credit: Justraveling.com (http:\/\/www.justraveling.com); Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>How People Were Named in Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most people in the Spanish-speaking world have two last names. The first was taken from their mother and the second from their father, both of which are the first of their parents\u2019 own two last names. This naming tradition has existed for centuries and was first made popular by the Castilian kings of Madrid. However, this naming convention did not become the norm until the 1800s. As with other European last names, many Spanish surnames originated as a descriptor of the person, where they came from, or their trade. In addition, people were often named after their parents.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patronymic Last Names<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the end of many Spanish last names are the suffixes: -ez, -az, -oz, and \u2013iz. These suffixes all mean \u201cson of,\u201d turning last names into identifiers of parentage. For example, Rodrigo S\u00e1nchez means Rodrigo son of Sancho. Patronymic naming, although somewhat outdated today, is still apparent in the versions of many of the most common Spanish and Mexican last names.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10 Common Spanish Surnames &amp; Their Meanings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Below are the ten most common Spanish last names according to a study by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. Considering these names are used by nearly 20% of modern Spaniards and those of Hispanic descent, there\u2019s a good chance you might find your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/last-name-meaning\">surname meaning<\/a> in this list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mart\u00edn:<\/strong> coming from the Latin word Martinus \u2013 the late-period name of the Roman god of war, Mars \u2013 Mart\u00edn is an incredibly common surname and given name throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Martin is also the most popular surname in neighboring France, though this is often attributed to St. Martin of Tours.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rodr\u00edguez:<\/strong> a patronymic name directly translated to mean \u201cson of Rodrigo,\u201d the name itself is taken from the Spanish form of the Germanic name Roderick, meaning \u201cfamous power.\u201d The widespread use of Rodr\u00edguez may be due to the fact that one of the last Visigothic kings of Christian Spain was named Roderic, cementing the name as a symbol of resistance during the Caliphate of Cordoba.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Garc\u00eda:<\/strong> widely thought to be the Spanish version of the ancient Basque name Gaztea, there are also a number of different theories as to the origins of Garc\u00eda. Whether it means \u201cyoung bear\u201d in Basque, \u201cyoung warrior\u201d in an early Germanic tongue, or \u201cgraceful prince\u201d in Visigothic, Garc\u00eda remains the most common Spanish last name and second most common Mexican last name.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fern\u00e1ndez:<\/strong> \u201cthe son of Fernando\u201d derives from the Germanic name Ferdinand, meaning \u201cbrave traveler\u201d or \u201cadventurous journey.\u201d Its historical variants also include the widely popular Hernandez.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gonz\u00e1lez:<\/strong> the second most common of Spanish last names has its origins in the Germanic name Gundisalv. Though some scholars believe the name means \u201cwar hall\u201d or \u201ccastle,\u201d others feel that only the first part of the Germanic phrase, gund (meaning \u201cwar\u201d), can be suitably translated, while the remainder, salv, is still a mystery.<\/li>\n<li><strong>L\u00f3pez:<\/strong> meaning \u201cson of the wolf,\u201d L\u00f3pez comes from the Latin word for wolf: \u201clupus.\u201d For those familiar with Roman history, Romulus, a literal son of a she-wolf, was the founder of the city of Rome. The name L\u00f3pez, though originally a patronymic name, does reference the glory days of Rome and its Hispania.<\/li>\n<li><strong>P\u00e9rez:<\/strong> a patronymic surname with Hebrew origins, P\u00e9rez means \u201cson of Pedro or Peter.\u201d The name is thought to have originated from the son of the Biblical character Judah, Perez, which in Hebrew means \u201cto burst forth.\u201d Many Sephardic Jews living in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition adopted the name to escape persecution, as P\u00e9rez sounded Spanish to the authorities but still maintained a link to Judaism.<\/li>\n<li><strong>G\u00f3mez<\/strong>: another Spanish last name with Germanic origins, the Visigoths used goma or gomo as their word for \u201cman,\u201d which bears a marked resemblance to the Latin homo for \u201cman\u201d as well. G\u00f3mez means \u201cson of man.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>S\u00e1nchez:<\/strong> coming from the Latin sanctius, meaning \u201csanctified\u201d or \u201cblessed,\u201d S\u00e1nchez is a patronymic last name that translates directly as \u201cson of Sancho\u201d or \u201cson of the blessed.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mart\u00ednez:<\/strong> a patronymic variation of the Spanish last name Mart\u00edn. It is widely prevalent in Spain, Latin America, the U.S., and France.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Last names with Spanish origins provide a link to the past, an understanding of who our ancestors were. Use your last name and search our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/static\/ethnic\/hispaniccontent.html\">Hispanic American Newspaper Archives<\/a> to trace your Spanish ancestry. Newspapers captured the events which defined our ancestors\u2019 lives. From marriage and birth announcements, to articles covering local events, find long-lost relatives and details about your ancestors\u2019 lives in newspapers. By understanding our roots, we uncover the lives of our ancestors \u2013 and in turn, learn more about who we are today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Article:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/irish-last-names-their-meanings.html\">Irish Last Names &amp; Their Meanings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, discover where your Spanish last name comes from, what it means, and how you can use this to find your ancestors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":35075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12899],"tags":[6215,20417,979,34149,34151,34145,34147],"class_list":["post-35061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hispanic-american-history-genealogy","tag-ancestor-name-research","tag-hispanic-american-history-and-genealogy","tag-hispanic-american-newspapers","tag-mexican-last-names","tag-mexican-surnames","tag-spanish-last-names","tag-spanish-surnames"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/photo-0809-2018-featured-graphic-castle-spain.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35061"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90499,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35061\/revisions\/90499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}