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Mexican Last Names

These Mexican last names range from Spanish classics like Hernández and García to Nahuatl and Maya family names, listed A to Z with their meanings. Use the search box to find a specific name or filter the list by first letter.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Acosta

    Spanish for the coast

  • Aguayo

    From Aguayo in Cantabria

  • Aguilar

    Place of eagles

  • Aguirre

    Basque: prominent, exposed place

  • Ahuatzi

    Possibly Nahuatl: revered oak

  • Alcalá

    Arabic: the castle

  • Alcántara

    Arabic: the bridge

  • Allende

    Spanish allende, beyond; Basque place origin

  • Almaraz

    From Almaraz in Cáceres

  • Alonso

    Noble and ready

  • Alvarado

    From Alvarado in Badajoz

  • Álvarez

    Son of Álvaro; possibly all-guarding

  • Amador

    Spanish for lover

  • Anaya

    Possibly Basque: brother

  • Andrade

    Galician place name

  • Del Ángel

    Of the angel

  • Ángeles

    Spanish for angels

  • Aranda

    From Aranda de Duero

  • Arellano

    From Arellano in Navarre

  • Arias

    Possibly Germanic: eagle or honor

  • Arizmendi

    Basque: oak mountain

  • Arreola

    Basque place name

  • Arriaga

    Basque: stony place

  • Arroyo

    Spanish for stream, brook

  • Arteaga

    Basque: place of holm oaks

  • Ávalos

    From Ávalos in Burgos

  • Ávila

    From the city of Ávila

  • Ayala

    Basque: slope, pasture

B

  • Baca

    Cow; variant of Vaca

  • Balam

    Yucatec Maya: jaguar

  • Bañuelos

    Spanish for small baths

  • Barajas

    From Barajas near Madrid

  • Barrera

    Barrier; clay pit

  • Bautista

    Baptist; after Saint John the Baptist

  • Bello

    Spanish for beautiful

  • Beltrán

    Germanic: bright raven

  • Benavides

    From Benavides in León

  • Benítez

    Son of Benito; blessed

  • Bermúdez

    Son of Bermudo

  • Bernal

    Strong as a bear; from Bernard

  • Blanco

    Spanish for white, fair

  • Bravo

    Spanish for brave, fierce

  • Bustamante

    From Bustamante in Cantabria; cattle pasture

C

  • Caamal

    Yucatec Maya surname; meaning uncertain

  • Cab

    Yucatec Maya: earth; honey, bee

  • Caballero

    Spanish for knight, horseman

  • Cabrera

    Spanish for goat pasture

  • Calderón

    Cauldron; cauldron maker

  • Calles

    Spanish for streets

  • Campos

    Spanish for fields

  • Can

    Yucatec Maya: snake, or four

  • Canché

    Yucatec Maya: wooden bench or seat

  • Cano

    Spanish for gray-haired

  • Cantú

    From Cantù in Lombardy; common in Nuevo León

  • Canul

    Yucatec Maya: guardian, protector

  • Cárdenas

    From Cárdenas in La Rioja; cárdeno, purplish

  • Carmona

    From Carmona in Seville

  • Carranza

    From Carranza in Biscay

  • Carrasco

    Holm oak scrubland

  • Carrera

    Spanish for road, path

  • Carrillo

    Small cart; also cheek

  • Castillo

    Spanish for castle

  • Castro

    Fortified hill; Roman fort

  • Ceballos

    From Cevallos in Cantabria

  • Cepeda

    Place of stumps and brush

  • Cervantes

    From a place name in Galicia

  • Chablé

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: anteater

  • Chan

    Yucatec Maya: small, little

  • Chavarría

    Basque: new house

  • Chávez

    From Chaves in Portugal, from Latin Aquae Flaviae

  • Chel

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: rainbow

  • Chi

    Yucatec Maya: mouth

  • Chimal

    Nahuatl for shield

  • Cisneros

    From Cisneros in Palencia

  • Cocoletzi

    Nahuatl reverential surname from Tlaxcala; meaning uncertain

  • Cocom

    Yucatec Maya ruling lineage of Mayapán

  • Contreras

    From Contreras in Burgos; land opposite

  • Cordero

    Spanish for lamb

  • Córdova

    Spanish surname from Córdoba

  • Corona

    Spanish for crown

  • Coronado

    Crowned; tonsured cleric

  • Cortés

    Spanish for courteous

  • Couoh

    Yucatec Maya: tarantula

  • Covarrubias

    Spanish for red caves

  • Cruz

    Cross; religious devotion

  • Cuapio

    Possibly Nahuatl cuahuitl, tree

  • Cuautle

    Possibly Nahuatl cuauhtli, eagle, or cuahuitl, tree

  • Cuéllar

    From Cuéllar in Segovia

  • Cuevas

    Spanish for caves

  • Cupul

    Yucatec Maya lineage of eastern Yucatán

D

  • Dávila

    Spanish surname from Ávila

  • Delgado

    Spanish for thin, slender

  • Díaz

    Son of Diego

  • Domínguez

    Son of Domingo; of the Lord

  • Duarte

    Portuguese form of Edward; wealthy guardian

  • Dzul

    Yucatec Maya: foreigner, stranger

E

  • Echeverría

    Basque: new house

  • Ek

    Yucatec Maya: star

  • Elizondo

    Basque: beside the church

  • Enríquez

    Son of Enrique; home ruler

  • Escamilla

    From Escamilla in Guadalajara

  • Escobar

    Place of broom shrubs

  • Esparza

    From a village in Navarre; esparto grass

  • Espinoza

    Spanish for thorny place

  • Esquivel

    From Esquíbel in Álava

  • Estrada

    Spanish for paved road

  • Estrella

    Spanish for star

F

  • Farías

    Galician-Portuguese place name

  • Figueroa

    Galician: place of fig trees

  • Flores

    Spanish for flowers

  • Franco

    Spanish for frank; free

  • Fuentes

    Spanish for springs, fountains

G

  • Gallardo

    Spanish for gallant, graceful

  • Gallegos

    Spanish for Galicians

  • Galván

    Possibly from Galvão, form of Gawain

  • Gamboa

    Basque place name in Álava

  • García

    Possibly from Basque for young or bear

  • Garibay

    Basque place name; possibly wheat river

  • Garza

    Spanish for heron

  • Goicoechea

    Basque: upper house

  • Gómez

    Son of Gome; man

  • González

    Son of Gonzalo; Germanic for battle

  • Guerra

    Spanish for war

  • Guerrero

    Spanish for warrior

  • Guillén

    From Guillermo; will helmet

  • Gutiérrez

    Son of Gutierre; possibly army ruler

  • Guzmán

    Germanic: good man

H

  • Hernández

    Son of Hernando; from Germanic for bold journey

  • Herrera

    Ironworks, blacksmith's forge

  • Hidalgo

    Nobleman; son of someone

  • Hinojosa

    Place of fennel

  • Huitzil

    Nahuatl for hummingbird

  • Hurtado

    Stolen; a child taken away

I

  • Ibarra

    Basque: meadow, riverside valley

  • Iturbide

    Basque: road to the fountain

  • Itzá

    Name of a Maya people of Petén and Yucatán

J

  • Jaramillo

    From jaramago, wild mustard

  • Jiménez

    Son of Jimeno; possibly from Simeon

  • Juárez

    Variant of Suárez; son of Suero

K

  • Kantún

    Yucatec Maya: yellow stone

  • Kú

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: god, or nest

L

  • De la Cruz

    Of the cross

  • Lara

    From Lara de los Infantes in Burgos

  • Leal

    Spanish for loyal

  • Ledesma

    From Ledesma in Salamanca

  • León

    Lion; from the kingdom of León

  • De León

    Of León; of the lion

  • Leyva

    From Leiva in La Rioja

  • Lira

    Spanish for lyre

  • López

    Son of Lope; wolf

  • Losada

    Place covered with slate slabs

  • Lozano

    Proud, spirited, lush

  • Lucero

    Morning star; bright light

  • Lugo

    From Lugo in Galicia

  • Luna

    Spanish for moon

M

  • Macías

    From Matthias; gift of God

  • Macuil

    Nahuatl for five

  • Madero

    Spanish for timber, wood

  • Madrigal

    From Madrigal de las Altas Torres

  • Magaña

    From Magaña in Soria

  • Maldonado

    Spanish for ill-given; unfortunate

  • Manzano

    Spanish for apple tree

  • Marín

    From Marinus; of the sea

  • Márquez

    Son of Marcos

  • Martínez

    Son of Martín; dedicated to Mars

  • Mata

    Spanish for thicket, shrubland

  • May

    Yucatec Maya: hoof; also a calendar cycle

  • Medina

    Arabic for city

  • Mejía

    Possibly from Messiah; old Iberian name

  • Mena

    From the Mena valley in Burgos

  • Méndez

    Son of Mendo, short for Menendo

  • Mendiola

    Basque: mountain hut

  • Mendoza

    Basque: cold mountain

  • Meza

    Table; flat-topped plateau

  • Miranda

    Admirable; also a place name

  • Mis

    Yucatec Maya: cat

  • Moctezuma

    Nahuatl: he who frowns like a lord

  • Molina

    Spanish for mill

  • Mondragón

    From Mondragón (Arrasate) in Gipuzkoa

  • Monroy

    From Monroy in Cáceres

  • Montalvo

    Spanish for white mountain

  • Montemayor

    Spanish for great mountain

  • Montes

    Mountains, wooded hills

  • Montoya

    From Montoya in Álava

  • Moo

    Yucatec Maya: macaw

  • Mora

    Blackberry or mulberry; also Moorish

  • Morales

    Spanish for mulberry trees

  • Moreno

    Dark-haired or dark-skinned

  • Muñoz

    Son of Muño

N

  • Nah

    Yucatec Maya: house

  • Nájera

    From Nájera in La Rioja

  • Nava

    Plain between mountains

  • Navarro

    Spanish surname from Navarre

  • Nieto

    Spanish for grandson

  • Noh

    Yucatec Maya: great; right-hand

  • Núñez

    Son of Nuño; possibly ninth

O

  • Obregón

    From Obregón in Cantabria

  • Ocampo

    Galician: the field

  • Ocaña

    From Ocaña in Toledo

  • Ochoa

    Basque for wolf

  • Olivares

    Spanish for olive groves

  • Olmos

    Spanish for elm trees

  • Olvera

    From Olvera in Cádiz

  • Orozco

    From Orozko in Biscay

  • Ortega

    Possibly from nettle or a type of grouse

  • Ortiz

    Son of Orti; fortunate

  • Osorio

    Possibly from Latin for bear or wolf

P

  • Pacheco

    Possibly from Latin for peaceful

  • Padilla

    Small frying pan; pan-shaped valley

  • Palacios

    Palaces, manor houses

  • Palma

    Spanish for palm tree

  • Palomino

    Spanish for little dove

  • Pantoja

    From Pantoja in Toledo

  • Pardo

    Spanish for brownish-gray

  • Paredes

    Spanish for walls

  • Parra

    Spanish for grapevine trellis

  • Paz

    Spanish for peace

  • Pech

    Yucatec Maya: tick; name of a noble lineage

  • Peña

    Spanish for rock, crag

  • Pérez

    Son of Pedro; rock

  • Pineda

    Spanish for pine grove

  • Pizarro

    Slate; place of slate

  • Plascencia

    From Plasencia; pleasing place

  • Ponce

    From Latin Pontius

  • Pool

    Yucatec Maya: head

  • Prieto

    Spanish for dark, swarthy

  • Puc

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: hill

Q

  • Quezada

    From Quesada in Jaén

  • Quintero

    Tenant farmer paying a fifth of the harvest

  • Quiroz

    From Quirós in Asturias

R

  • Ramírez

    Son of Ramiro; famed counsel

  • Ramos

    Branches; Palm Sunday

  • Rangel

    Possibly Portuguese; meaning uncertain

  • Rentería

    Basque: rent or tax house

  • Reyes

    Kings; Feast of the Three Kings

  • Ríos

    Spanish for rivers

  • Rivera

    Spanish for riverbank

  • Robledo

    Spanish for oak grove

  • Robles

    Spanish for oak trees

  • Rocha

    Portuguese and Galician for rock, cliff

  • Rodríguez

    Son of Rodrigo; famous ruler

  • Rojas

    Red; from reddish land

  • Romero

    Pilgrim to Rome; also rosemary

  • Rosales

    Spanish for rose bushes

  • Rosas

    Spanish for roses

  • Rubio

    Spanish for blond, fair-haired

  • Ruiz

    Son of Ruy, short form of Rodrigo

S

  • Saavedra

    Galician: old hall

  • Salas

    Spanish for halls

  • Salazar

    Basque: old hall

  • Saldaña

    From Saldaña in Palencia

  • Salgado

    Salted; from salty land

  • Salinas

    Spanish for salt works

  • San Juan

    Spanish for Saint John

  • Sánchez

    Son of Sancho; holy

  • Sandoval

    From Sandoval in Burgos; new grove

  • Santiago

    Spanish for Saint James

  • Santos

    Saints; All Saints' Day

  • Sepúlveda

    From Sepúlveda in Segovia

  • Serrano

    Highlander, from the mountains

  • Sierra

    Spanish for mountain range

  • Silva

    From Latin silva, forest, woodland

  • Solano

    Easterly wind; sunny slope

  • Solís

    From Solís in Asturias

  • Sosa

    From the Sousa river in Portugal

  • Soto

    Spanish for grove, thicket

T

  • Tapia

    Adobe mud wall

  • Tejeda

    Spanish for yew grove

  • Téllez

    Son of Tello

  • Toledo

    From the city of Toledo

  • Torres

    Spanish for towers

  • Tovar

    From Tovar in Burgos; place of tufa stone

  • Trejo

    From a place name in Andalusia

  • Treviño

    From Treviño in Burgos

  • Trujillo

    From Trujillo in Extremadura

  • Tun

    Yucatec Maya: stone, precious stone

U

  • Uc

    Possibly Yucatec Maya: seven, or louse

  • Uribe

    Basque: below the town

V

  • Valadez

    Possibly from Valadés; of the valley

  • Valdez

    Valley; variant of Valdés

  • Valencia

    From Valencia; strength, vigor

  • Valenzuela

    Spanish for little Valencia

  • Varela

    Galician: rod, staff

  • Vargas

    Sloping meadows with huts

  • Vázquez

    Son of Vasco; Basque

  • Vega

    Fertile plain, meadow

  • Velasco

    Basque: little crow

  • Velázquez

    Son of Velasco; Basque for little crow

  • Vera

    Edge, bank of a river

  • Villa

    Town, country estate

  • Villalobos

    Town of wolves

  • Villanueva

    Spanish for new town

  • Villarreal

    Spanish for royal town

  • Villegas

    From Villegas in Burgos; small towns

Z

  • Zamora

    From the city of Zamora

  • Zapata

    Spanish for shoe; shoemaker

  • Zaragoza

    From the city of Zaragoza

  • Zárate

    Basque place name in Álava

  • Zavala

    Basque: wide place

  • Zúñiga

    From Zúñiga in Navarre

Generate random mexican surnames

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  • Ángeles

    Spanish for angels

  • Robles

    Spanish for oak trees

  • Obregón

    From Obregón in Cantabria

  • Tzompantzi

    Possibly Nahuatl tzompantli, skull rack

  • Allende

    Spanish allende, beyond; Basque place origin

  • Maldonado

    Spanish for ill-given; unfortunate

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    Most common last names in Mexico and their meanings

    Hernández is the most common surname in Mexico, followed by García, Martínez, López and González. Rodríguez, Pérez, Sánchez, Ramírez and Flores complete the usual top group. Most of these are Spanish patronymics, formed from a father's given name with the ending -ez, meaning son of. Hernández comes from Hernando, Martínez from Martín, González from Gonzalo and Ramírez from Ramiro. García is older than the -ez names and may come from a Basque word meaning young.

    Flores, meaning flowers, is one of the few top names that is not a patronymic. Other frequent descriptive names include Cruz (cross), Reyes (kings), Morales (mulberry trees), Torres (towers) and Vargas, from a word for a steep slope. Religious surnames such as De la Cruz, De Jesús and Santiago were often given at baptism during the colonial period, especially to indigenous converts, which is one reason they are so widespread in rural Mexico today.

    Mexican surnames from Nahuatl, Maya and other languages

    Mexico is home to dozens of indigenous languages, and family names from several of them survived colonial record keeping. Nahuatl names such as Moctezuma, Cuautle and Xicoténcatl are found mainly in central states like Puebla, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico. They often honour historic rulers or come from Nahuatl words, as Cuautle does from cuauhtli, eagle. Purépecha names such as Tzintzun, meaning hummingbird, are concentrated in Michoacán.

    The Yucatán Peninsula has the strongest survival of indigenous surnames. Maya names such as Pech, Chan, Canul, Dzib, Uc, May and Ek are everyday names in Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo, and Ek means star. A person might be named Ramírez Pech or Canul Hernández, combining a Spanish and a Maya surname in the double-name system. If you are writing a character from the south of Mexico, a Maya name adds a precise sense of place.

    How Mexican last names are passed down

    Mexicans usually have two surnames: the father's first surname followed by the mother's first surname. Someone named Luis Ramírez Castro has a father surnamed Ramírez and a mother surnamed Castro, and he will pass on Ramírez to his own children. In daily life he is simply Luis Ramírez. Mexican courts have confirmed that parents may place the mother's surname first, and more families now do so, although the father-first order is still the norm.

    Accents matter in Mexican surnames. Names ending in -ez that are stressed on the second-to-last syllable take a written accent: Hernández, Martínez, Gómez. In the United States these accents are often dropped on forms, giving Hernandez and Martinez, and many Mexican American families have used only one surname for generations. Before you pick a name for a character, decide whether they live in Mexico, with both surnames and accents, or in the United States, where a single unaccented surname is typical.

    Frequently asked questions

    What are the most common last names in Mexico?

    Hernández, García, Martínez, López and González lead national counts, followed by Rodríguez, Pérez, Sánchez, Ramírez and Flores. Most are Spanish patronymics ending in -ez, which originally meant son of, so Martínez meant the son of Martín.

    Why do Mexican last names often end in -ez?

    The -ez ending is an old Spanish patronymic suffix meaning son of. It was attached to a father's given name, so Rodrigo gave Rodríguez, Sancho gave Sánchez and Pedro gave Pérez. These names became hereditary in Spain and spread to Mexico with colonization.

    Do Mexican women change their surname when they marry?

    Legally they keep their own two surnames. Some women socially add de followed by the husband's surname, as in María López de García, but this custom is declining, and official documents continue to show the birth surnames.

    Are there Mexican surnames of indigenous origin?

    Yes. Nahuatl names such as Moctezuma and Cuautle, Maya names such as Pech, Canul and Ek, and Purépecha names such as Tzintzun are all still in use. They are most common in the states where those languages are spoken, especially Puebla, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and the Yucatán Peninsula.

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