lastnamegenerators

Hispanic Last Names

These Hispanic last names come from Spain and every Spanish-speaking country in the Americas, listed A to Z with meanings. They include Castilian patronymics, Basque and Catalan names, and indigenous surnames from Mexico, the Andes and Central America.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Acosta

    Dweller on the coast or slope

    Spanish

  • Aguayo

    From Aguayo in Cantabria

    Mexican

  • Aguilar

    Place of eagles

    Spanish

  • Aguirre

    Basque, open field or prominent place

    Spanish

  • Almaraz

    From Almaraz in Cáceres

    Mexican

  • Alonso

    From the given name Alonso, noble and ready

    Spanish

  • Alvarado

    Habitational name from Badajoz

    Spanish

  • Álvarez

    Son of Álvaro

    Spanish

  • Andrade

    Galician place name

    Mexican

  • Andrés

    From the given name Andrew, manly

    Spanish

  • Del Ángel

    Of the angel

    Mexican

  • Ángeles

    Spanish for angels

    Mexican

  • Aranda

    Habitational name from Aranda de Duero

    Spanish

  • Arellano

    From Arellano in Navarre

    Mexican

  • Arenas

    Sands, sandy place

    Spanish

  • Arias

    Possibly from the Germanic name Arias

    Spanish

  • Arreola

    Basque place name

    Mexican

  • Arriaga

    Basque: stony place

    Mexican

  • Arroyo

    Stream, brook, dweller by one

    Spanish

  • Arteaga

    Basque: place of holm oaks

    Mexican

  • Ávalos

    From Ávalos in Burgos

    Mexican

B

  • Balam

    Yucatec Maya: jaguar

    Mexican

  • Bañuelos

    Spanish for small baths

    Mexican

  • Barajas

    From Barajas near Madrid

    Mexican

  • Barrera

    Barrier, gate, or clay pit

    Spanish

  • Bautista

    Baptist, from John the Baptist

    Spanish

  • Beltrán

    From Germanic Bertrand, bright raven

    Spanish

  • Benítez

    Son of Benito

    Spanish

  • Bermejo

    Reddish, red-haired person

    Spanish

  • Bernal

    Strong as a bear; from Bernard

    Mexican

  • Blanco

    White, fair-haired

    Spanish

  • Blázquez

    Son of Blasco, from Velasco

    Spanish

  • Bonilla

    Habitational name from Cuenca

    Spanish

  • Bravo

    Fierce, brave, wild

    Spanish

  • Bueno

    Good, a kindly person

    Spanish

C

  • Caamal

    Yucatec Maya surname; meaning uncertain

    Mexican

  • Cab

    Yucatec Maya: earth; honey, bee

    Mexican

  • Caballero

    Knight, horseman

    Spanish

  • Cabrera

    Place of goats

    Spanish

  • Calderón

    Cauldron, cauldron maker

    Spanish

  • Calvo

    Bald

    Spanish

  • Camacho

    Possibly from a Portuguese place name

    Spanish

  • Campos

    Fields

    Spanish

  • Can

    Yucatec Maya: snake, or four

    Mexican

  • Canché

    Yucatec Maya: wooden bench or seat

    Mexican

  • Cano

    White-haired, old

    Spanish

  • Cantú

    From Cantù in Lombardy; common in Nuevo León

    Mexican

  • Canul

    Yucatec Maya: guardian, protector

    Mexican

  • Carbonell

    Catalan, little charcoal burner

    Spanish

  • Cárdenas

    Bluish purple, place name in La Rioja

    Spanish

  • Carmona

    Habitational name from Carmona, Seville

    Spanish

  • Carrasco

    Holm oak grove

    Spanish

  • Carrera

    Road, highway, dweller by a road

    Spanish

  • Carrillo

    Cheek or jaw, a nickname

    Spanish

  • Casado

    Married man, a householder

    Spanish

  • Casas

    Houses, dweller by notable houses

    Spanish

  • Castillo

    Dweller at a castle

    Spanish

  • Castro

    Dweller near a castle or fortified place

    Spanish

  • Ceballos

    From Cevallos in Cantabria

    Mexican

  • Cepeda

    Place of stumps and brush

    Mexican

  • Cervantes

    Habitational name from Lugo, Galicia

    Spanish

  • Chan

    Yucatec Maya: small, little

    Mexican

  • Chávez

    Habitational name from Chaves in northern Portugal

    Spanish

  • Chi

    Yucatec Maya: mouth

    Mexican

  • Cisneros

    From Cisneros in Palencia

    Mexican

  • Conde

    Count, or servant of a count

    Spanish

  • Contreras

    Habitational name from Burgos

    Spanish

  • Cordero

    Lamb, a shepherd or a gentle person

    Spanish

  • Córdova

    Spanish surname from Córdoba

    Mexican

  • Corona

    Spanish for crown

    Mexican

  • Coronado

    Crowned; tonsured cleric

    Mexican

  • Cortés

    Courteous, polite

    Spanish

  • Couoh

    Yucatec Maya: tarantula

    Mexican

  • Crespo

    Curly-haired

    Spanish

  • Cruz

    Dweller near a cross

    Spanish

  • Cuéllar

    From Cuéllar in Segovia

    Mexican

  • Cuevas

    Caves, dweller near caves

    Spanish

D

  • Delgado

    Thin, slender

    Spanish

  • Díaz

    Son of Diego

    Spanish

  • Diez

    Son of Diego

    Spanish

  • Domingo

    From the given name Dominic, of the Lord

    Spanish

  • Domínguez

    Son of Domingo

    Spanish

  • Duarte

    Portuguese form of Edward; wealthy guardian

    Mexican

  • Durán

    Enduring, steadfast

    Spanish

  • Dzul

    Yucatec Maya: foreigner, stranger

    Mexican

E

  • Ek

    Yucatec Maya: star

    Mexican

  • Escamilla

    From Escamilla in Guadalajara

    Mexican

  • Escudero

    Squire, shield bearer

    Spanish

  • Espinosa

    Thorny place

    Spanish

  • Espinoza

    Spanish for thorny place

    Mexican

  • Esquivel

    From Esquíbel in Álava

    Mexican

  • Esteban

    From Stephen, crown

    Spanish

F

  • Farías

    Galician-Portuguese place name

    Mexican

  • Fernández

    Son of Fernando

    Spanish

  • Ferrer

    Catalan for blacksmith

    Spanish

  • Flores

    Flowers, possibly from Gothic Froila

    Spanish

  • Franco

    Free, or a Frank

    Spanish

  • Fuentes

    Springs, fountains

    Spanish

G

  • Galán

    Gallant, handsome, elegant man

    Spanish

  • Galindo

    From a Visigothic personal name

    Spanish

  • Gallardo

    Gallant, dashing

    Spanish

  • Gallego

    Person from Galicia

    Spanish

  • Gallegos

    Spanish for Galicians

    Mexican

  • Galván

    Possibly from Galvão, form of Gawain

    Mexican

  • Gálvez

    Possibly son of Galve, or from the place Galve

    Spanish

  • García

    Possibly from Basque, young or bear

    Spanish

  • Garrido

    Handsome, elegant

    Spanish

  • Garza

    Spanish for heron

    Mexican

  • Gil

    From the given name Gil, Egidius

    Spanish

  • Giménez

    Son of Jimeno, variant spelling

    Spanish

  • Gómez

    Son of Gome, from Gothic guma meaning man

    Spanish

  • González

    Son of Gonzalo

    Spanish

  • Guerra

    War, a soldier

    Spanish

  • Guerrero

    Warrior, soldier

    Spanish

  • Guevara

    Basque habitational name from Álava

    Spanish

  • Guillén

    From Guillermo, William

    Spanish

  • Gutiérrez

    Son of Gutierre, from Gothic Walter

    Spanish

H

  • Heredia

    Basque habitational name, inherited land

    Spanish

  • Hernández

    Son of Hernando

    Spanish

  • Herrera

    Ironworks, blacksmith's forge

    Spanish

  • Herrero

    Blacksmith

    Spanish

  • Hidalgo

    Nobleman, son of something

    Spanish

  • Hurtado

    Stolen; a child taken away

    Mexican

I

  • Ibáñez

    Son of Ibán, John

    Spanish

  • Ibarra

    Basque, valley or river meadow

    Spanish

  • Iglesias

    Dweller near the churches

    Spanish

  • Iturbide

    Basque: road to the fountain

    Mexican

  • Izquierdo

    Left-handed

    Spanish

J

  • Jaramillo

    From jaramago, wild mustard

    Mexican

  • Jiménez

    Son of Jimeno, possibly from Simon

    Spanish

  • Juárez

    Son of Suero, variant of Suárez

    Spanish

  • Jurado

    Sworn official, juror

    Spanish

K

  • Kantún

    Yucatec Maya: yellow stone

    Mexican

  • Kú

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: god, or nest

    Mexican

L

  • De la Cruz

    Of the cross

    Mexican

  • Lara

    Habitational name from Lara de los Infantes

    Spanish

  • Leal

    Spanish for loyal

    Mexican

  • De León

    Of León; of the lion

    Mexican

  • León

    Lion, or from the city of León

    Spanish

  • Leyva

    From Leiva in La Rioja

    Mexican

  • Lira

    Spanish for lyre

    Mexican

  • López

    Son of Lope, wolf

    Spanish

  • Lorenzo

    From Latin Laurentius, man from Laurentum

    Spanish

  • Lozano

    Vigorous, lush, exuberant

    Spanish

  • Lucas

    From the given name Luke

    Spanish

  • Lucero

    Morning star; bright light

    Mexican

  • Lugo

    From Lugo in Galicia

    Mexican

  • Luna

    Moon, habitational name from Zaragoza

    Spanish

M

  • Macías

    Son of Matías

    Spanish

  • Madrigal

    From Madrigal de las Altas Torres

    Mexican

  • Magaña

    From Magaña in Soria

    Mexican

  • Manzano

    Apple tree, dweller by one

    Spanish

  • Marcos

    From the given name Mark, of Mars

    Spanish

  • Marín

    Of the sea, from Latin Marinus

    Spanish

  • Márquez

    Son of Marcos

    Spanish

  • Martín

    From the Roman name Martinus, of Mars

    Spanish

  • Martínez

    Son of Martín

    Spanish

  • Mata

    Thicket, scrubland, dweller nearby

    Spanish

  • Mateo

    From the given name Matthew

    Spanish

  • May

    Yucatec Maya: hoof; also a calendar cycle

    Mexican

  • Medina

    From Arabic, the city

    Spanish

  • Mejía

    Possibly from Messiah; old Iberian name

    Mexican

  • Méndez

    Son of Mendo, from Menendo

    Spanish

  • Mendoza

    Basque, cold mountain

    Spanish

  • Merino

    Royal official, or sheep breed

    Spanish

  • Mesa

    Table, a plateau

    Spanish

  • Meza

    Table; flat-topped plateau

    Mexican

  • Millán

    From the given name Emilianus

    Spanish

  • Miranda

    Admirable, or a lookout place

    Spanish

  • Molina

    Dweller near a mill

    Spanish

  • Montalvo

    Spanish for white mountain

    Mexican

  • Montemayor

    Spanish for great mountain

    Mexican

  • Montero

    Huntsman, forester

    Spanish

  • Montes

    Mountains, hills, a highlander

    Spanish

  • Montoya

    Basque, hills and pastures

    Spanish

  • Moo

    Yucatec Maya: macaw

    Mexican

  • Mora

    Mulberry, or from a place named Mora

    Spanish

  • Morales

    Grove of mulberry trees

    Spanish

  • Moreno

    Dark-haired or dark-skinned

    Spanish

  • Moya

    Habitational name from Moya, Cuenca

    Spanish

  • Muñoz

    Son of Muño, from a Basque or Gothic name

    Spanish

  • Murillo

    Small wall, habitational name from Navarre

    Spanish

N

  • Nadal

    Catalan, born at Christmas

    Spanish

  • Nájera

    From Nájera in La Rioja

    Mexican

  • Nava

    Plain between mountains

    Mexican

  • Navarro

    Person from Navarre

    Spanish

  • Nieto

    Grandson

    Spanish

  • Noh

    Yucatec Maya: great; right-hand

    Mexican

  • Núñez

    Son of Nuño

    Spanish

O

  • Ojeda

    Habitational name from Burgos

    Spanish

  • Oliva

    Olive tree, olive grower

    Spanish

  • Olvera

    From Olvera in Cádiz

    Mexican

  • Orozco

    Basque habitational name from Biscay

    Spanish

  • Ortega

    Nettle patch, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Ortiz

    Son of Orti, from Fortún

    Spanish

  • Osorio

    Of uncertain origin, possibly from a medieval personal name

    Spanish

  • Otero

    Galician, hillock or knoll

    Spanish

P

  • Pacheco

    Possibly from a Latin personal name, Paciecus

    Spanish

  • Padilla

    Small frying pan, a hollow valley

    Spanish

  • Palacios

    Palaces, dweller near a palace

    Spanish

  • Palma

    Palm tree, or from the city of Palma

    Spanish

  • Pantoja

    From Pantoja in Toledo

    Mexican

  • Pardo

    Brownish-grey, dusky

    Spanish

  • Parra

    Grapevine trellis

    Spanish

  • Pascual

    Born at Easter

    Spanish

  • Pastor

    Shepherd

    Spanish

  • Paz

    Peace, from Our Lady of Peace

    Spanish

  • Pech

    Yucatec Maya: tick; name of a noble lineage

    Mexican

  • Peña

    Dweller near a crag or rock

    Spanish

  • Pérez

    Son of Pedro

    Spanish

  • Pineda

    Pine grove, dweller by pines

    Spanish

  • Pizarro

    Slate; place of slate

    Mexican

  • Plascencia

    From Plasencia; pleasing place

    Mexican

  • Plaza

    Dweller by the town square

    Spanish

  • Polo

    From Pablo, or the Catalan name Pol

    Spanish

  • Ponce

    From the Roman name Pontius

    Spanish

  • Pool

    Yucatec Maya: head

    Mexican

  • Prieto

    Dark-complexioned

    Spanish

  • Puc

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: hill

    Mexican

  • Pujol

    Catalan, small hill

    Spanish

Q

  • Quesada

    Habitational name from Jaén

    Spanish

  • Quezada

    From Quesada in Jaén

    Mexican

  • Quintero

    Farmer paying a fifth of produce as rent

    Spanish

  • Quiroz

    From Quirós in Asturias

    Mexican

R

  • Ramírez

    Son of Ramiro

    Spanish

  • Ramos

    Branches, often for one born on Palm Sunday

    Spanish

  • Rangel

    Possibly from Rangel in Extremadura

    Spanish

  • Redondo

    Round, plump

    Spanish

  • Rentería

    Basque: rent or tax house

    Mexican

  • Rey

    King, nickname or servant of the king

    Spanish

  • Reyes

    Kings, from the Feast of the Three Kings

    Spanish

  • Rico

    Rich, or a noble person

    Spanish

  • Ríos

    Rivers

    Spanish

  • Riquelme

    From Germanic Richelm, power + helmet

    Spanish

  • Rivas

    Riverbanks

    Spanish

  • Rivera

    Riverbank, shore

    Spanish

  • Robledo

    Oak grove, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Robles

    Oak trees, dweller by oaks

    Spanish

  • Rocha

    Portuguese and Galician for rock, cliff

    Mexican

  • Rodríguez

    Son of Rodrigo

    Spanish

  • Roig

    Catalan, red-haired or ruddy

    Spanish

  • Rojas

    Red, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Román

    Roman, from the given name Román

    Spanish

  • Romero

    Pilgrim to Rome

    Spanish

  • Rosales

    Rose bushes, dweller by roses

    Spanish

  • Rosas

    Spanish for roses

    Mexican

  • Rubio

    Blond, fair-haired

    Spanish

  • Rueda

    Wheel, a wheelwright

    Spanish

  • Ruiz

    Son of Ruy, short for Rodrigo

    Spanish

S

  • Saavedra

    Galician: old hall

    Mexican

  • Sáez

    Son of Sancho

    Spanish

  • Salas

    Halls, manor houses

    Spanish

  • Saldaña

    From Saldaña in Palencia

    Mexican

  • Salgado

    Salty, a witty person, Galician

    Spanish

  • Salvador

    Savior, a devotional name

    Spanish

  • San Juan

    Spanish for Saint John

    Mexican

  • San Martín

    Habitational name from a place named for Saint Martin

    Spanish

  • Sánchez

    Son of Sancho

    Spanish

  • Sancho

    From a Latin name meaning holy

    Spanish

  • Sandoval

    Habitational name from Burgos, meaning grove

    Spanish

  • Santana

    Saint Anne, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Santiago

    Saint James

    Spanish

  • Santos

    Saints, from All Saints Day

    Spanish

  • Sanz

    Variant of Sancho, holy

    Spanish

  • Segura

    Safe, secure, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Serrano

    Dweller in the mountains, highlander

    Spanish

  • Sevilla

    From the city of Seville

    Spanish

  • Sierra

    Mountain range

    Spanish

  • Silva

    Woodland, forest

    Spanish

  • Simón

    From the given name Simon

    Spanish

  • Solano

    Easterly wind; sunny slope

    Mexican

  • Soler

    Catalan, dweller on a plot of land

    Spanish

  • Solís

    Habitational name from Asturias

    Spanish

  • Soriano

    Person from Soria

    Spanish

  • Sosa

    From the Sousa river in Portugal

    Mexican

  • Soto

    Grove, thicket

    Spanish

  • Suárez

    Son of Suero, possibly swineherd

    Spanish

T

  • Tejeda

    Spanish for yew grove

    Mexican

  • Téllez

    Son of Tello

    Mexican

  • Tomás

    From the given name Thomas, twin

    Spanish

  • Torre

    Dweller by a tower

    Spanish

  • Torres

    Dweller near the towers

    Spanish

  • Tovar

    Habitational name from Burgos

    Spanish

  • Trejo

    Habitational name from Cáceres

    Spanish

  • Treviño

    From Treviño in Burgos

    Mexican

  • Tun

    Yucatec Maya: stone, precious stone

    Mexican

U

  • Uc

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: seven, or louse

    Mexican

  • Uribe

    Basque, lower part of the village

    Spanish

V

  • Valadez

    Possibly from Valadés; of the valley

    Mexican

  • Valdez

    Variant of Valdés, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Valencia

    From Valencia; strength, vigor

    Mexican

  • Valero

    From Valerius, strong

    Spanish

  • Valle

    Dweller in a valley

    Spanish

  • Vallejo

    Small valley, habitational name

    Spanish

  • Varela

    Galician habitational name, from a small valley

    Spanish

  • Vargas

    Steep hillside or thatched hut

    Spanish

  • Vázquez

    Son of Vasco

    Spanish

  • Vega

    Fertile lowland meadow

    Spanish

  • Velázquez

    Son of Velasco

    Spanish

  • Vera

    Riverbank or edge, habitational name

    Spanish

Generate random hispanic surnames

Filter by first letter, length and rarity, add a first name to preview the full name, then copy or save your favorites.

Results (6)

  • Bermejo

    Reddish, red-haired person

    Spanish

  • Calvo

    Bald

    Spanish

  • Castro

    Dweller near a castle or fortified place

    Spanish

  • Ximénez

    Archaic spelling, son of Jimeno

    Spanish

  • Fraga

    Galician, rocky place or thicket

    Spanish

  • Nava

    Plain between mountains

    Mexican

Saved names

    Names you save will appear here. They stay in this browser only.

    Open the full generator

    Where Hispanic last names come from

    Hispanic describes people with roots in Spanish-speaking countries, so these names reflect several centuries of history on two continents. The core comes from medieval Spain: patronymics like Rodríguez, Martínez and Hernández, place names like Torres and Navarro, and nicknames like Rubio and Moreno. Spanish colonization spread these names across the Americas from the sixteenth century onward, and baptism records made them official for many indigenous and African-descended people.

    Each country then added its own layers. Argentina and Uruguay absorbed large Italian migrations, so Rossi, Ferrari and Bianchi are common there. Peru and Bolivia have many Quechua and Aymara names, such as Quispe, meaning free, and Mamani, meaning falcon. Chile has a notable share of Basque names like Echeverría and Larraín. The list above mixes all of these, which is why you will find surnames that rarely appear in Spain itself.

    Patterns you can spot in Hispanic last names

    The ending -ez, meaning son of, marks the largest group. Hernández, González, Pérez, Sánchez, Ramírez and Gutiérrez all began as the son of Hernando, Gonzalo, Pedro, Sancho, Ramiro and Gutierre. Related endings appear in Díaz (son of Diego) and Muñoz (son of Munio). Religious names form another group, especially in Latin America: Cruz, De Jesús, Santos, Trinidad and Reyes, the last of which recalls the Three Kings of the Epiphany.

    Place and landscape names are common too. Rivera means riverbank, Vega a fertile plain, Castillo castle, Del Valle of the valley and Fuentes springs. Many describe trees: Olivares (olive groves), Morales (mulberries), Robles (oaks) and Perales (pear trees). Knowing these patterns makes it easy to guess meanings. A name ending in -ales or -edo, such as Robledo, usually refers to a grove or a place where a particular tree grew.

    Naming customs across Spanish-speaking countries

    In most Spanish-speaking countries a person carries two surnames, the father's followed by the mother's, and women keep their names after marriage. Customs vary at the edges. Argentines often use only the paternal surname in daily life. In the United States, many Hispanic families use a single surname, sometimes joining the two with a hyphen so that forms and databases do not treat the second name as a middle name. Accents are also frequently dropped in English-language records.

    Hispanic surnames are now a major part of the American name landscape. In the 2010 United States census, Garcia, Rodriguez and Martinez all ranked among the most common surnames in the country, alongside Smith and Johnson. When choosing a name for a character, consider which country the family comes from and how long they have lived in the United States, since that shapes whether they use one surname or two and whether they keep the accents.

    Frequently asked questions

    Which Hispanic last names are the most common?

    García, Rodríguez, Martínez, Hernández, López and González are the most common across the Spanish-speaking world and among Hispanic Americans. Pérez, Sánchez, Ramírez and Torres follow closely. Most began as medieval Spanish patronymics meaning son of a given name.

    Why do many Hispanic last names end in -ez?

    The suffix -ez was a patronymic marker in medieval Spain, meaning son of. It was attached to a father's first name, so Gonzalo became González. When surnames became hereditary these forms were fixed, and Spanish colonization carried them throughout Latin America.

    Do Hispanic last names include indigenous names?

    Yes. Many families in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador carry indigenous surnames, such as Quispe and Mamani in the Andes or Pech and Canul in the Yucatán. They are often paired with a Spanish surname in the two-surname system.

    Is there a difference between Hispanic and Latino names?

    Hispanic refers to Spanish-speaking heritage, while Latino refers to Latin American heritage, including Brazil, where Portuguese names like Silva and Oliveira are common. Many surnames fit both labels. The list above focuses on names from Spanish-speaking countries and communities.

    More last name lists