200 Most Common Mexican Last Names & Their Meanings

Mexico has by far the most Spanish speakers in the world. However, Mexico doesn’t have an official language. I have selected the 200 most common Mexican last names with their meanings included.

List Of The Most Common Mexican Last Names With Meanings:

Soto

Soto is a surname of Spanish origin and is meaning small wood or grove.

Cornejo

Dogwood.

Mata

Thicket.

Cuenca

It comes from cuenca, ”basin.”

Garcia

Garcia has its origins in the Basque word hartz, “bear.” It is the second most common surname in Mexico.

León

Lion, and a city in Guanajuato.

Salgado

”Salted.”

Guerrero

”Warrior.” Álvaro Guerrero played in the 1986 drama film The Mission.

Barrios

Neighborhoods.

Reyes

Reyes is derived from the word rey, ”kings.”

Bravo

”Courageous” or ”brave.” Bravo is from the Latin word bravus.

Huerta

Orchard, or vegetable garden.

Blanco

White.

Tejeda

”Yew grove.”

Iturbide

It is made of Basque iturri and bide, ”fountain road.” Agustín de Iturbide was Mexico’s first emperor.

Machado

Axe, in Portuguese.

Félix

María Félix (”lucky”) was a star of Mexican cinema.

Rivera

Diego Rivera (”riverbank”) painted murals and married Frida Kahlo.

Cuevas

Caves.

Pineda

”Pine grove.”

Ochoa

”Wolf” in Basque, and Lorena Ochoa ranked world number one in women’s golf.

Moctezuma

Nahuatl for ”he who frowns like a lord,” and an Aztec ruler.

Martinez

“Son of Martin.” It has its origins in Mars that is the Roman god of war and fertility.

Arteaga

Place of holm oaks.

Manzano

Apple tree.

Barragán

Luis Barragán (”brave lad”) won a Pritzker Prize for architecture.

Dzul

”Foreigner” in Yucatec Maya, pronounced TSOOL.

Cortés

”Courteous.”

Alvarado

‘Whitened place.’ During the Fall of Tenochtitlan Pedro de Alvarado served as Cortés’s chief lieutenant.

Cruz

Cruz comes from the Latin word crux (“cross”).

Fuentes

“Fountains.”

READ MORE: 38 Common Japanese Last Names With Meanings

Lopez

“Son of Lope.”

Vega

It has a meaning that I like, “one who lives on the plain.” Lope de Vega, one of the most prolific playwrights who ever lived.

Elizondo

From Basque eliza and ondo, ”beside the church.”

Cadena

”Chain.”

Valencia

From Latin valentia, strength.

Márquez

”Son of Marcos.” Rafael Márquez played at five World Cups for Mexico.

Palacios

Palaces.

Arroyo

”Stream.”

Ortega

Ortega comes from Latin urtica that is meaning ”nettle.” Cristóbal Ortega played for the Mexico national team in 24 matches. Orreaga and Ortigosa are good variations.

Pinto

Painted, spotted, piebald, or a chick in Portuguese.

Nava

A plain between hills.

Espinoza

“Thorny place.”

Hernández

Hernández (“son of Hernando”) is the Spanish form of the Germanic Ferdinand.

Vera

”Edge,” or true.

Bermúdez

Son of Bermudo.

Franco

Free, or a Frank.

Tun

”Stone,” a Maya word.

Mercado

”Market.”

Villanueva

New town.

Iglesias

”Churches.”

Lucero

Lucero has a meaning that I love: ”morning star.”

Allende

”Beyond.” San Miguel de Allende comes from Ignacio Allende.

Castañeda

Chestnut grove.

Garay

”High place.”

Domínguez

”Son of Domingo.” Politician Alfonso Martínez Domínguez was the governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León for 6 years.

Ventura

”Good fortune.”

Rentería

From a Basque town after a toll house.

Olivares

Olive groves.

Miramontes

Luis Miramontes (”look at the mountains”) made a compound for an early birth control pill.

Lara

Lara is a water nymph in Roman Mythology. It means pleasant place or cheerful.

Ávila

Someone from Ávila, home of Saint Teresa.

Carrasco

”Scrub oak.”

Delgado

”Soft” or ”delicate.” Delgado is derived from Latin delicatus. Sculptor Marcel Delgado is famous for his work on the 1933 film King Kong.

Nunez

Son of Nuño.”

Gonzalez

”Son of Gonzalo.” It is one of the most common surnames in the Spanish-speaking population.

Contreras

”From the surrounding area.”

Vargas

Vargas comes from the Spanish word varga (”steepest section of a slope”).

Padilla

From padilla, a small frying pan.

Amador

Lover.

Solano

East wind, or a sunny spot.

Negrete

”Little dark one,” and singing charro Jorge Negrete.

Valle

Valley.

Goicoechea

”Upper house,” pronounced goy-koh-eh-CHEH-ah.

Arriaga

”Stony place.”

Santana

”Saint Anne.” Carlos Santana is from Autlán, Jalisco.

Duarte

Portuguese form of Edward, ”rich guard.”

Mendez

”Son or descendant of Mendo.” Actor Marco Méndez played Dr. Bruno Palma in the telenovela Querida Enemiga.

Villarreal

Royal town.

Quiñones

Plots of shared farmland.

Vidal

From Latin vitalis, life.

Fresno

”Ash tree,” and a California city after local ash trees.

Maldonado

”Badly given.”

Ángeles

”Angels”.

Perez

”Son of Pero” and is the Spanish equivalent of Peter. Peter has its origins in the Greek Petros (stone or rock).

Montes

Mountains.

Alcalá

From Arabic al-qala, ”fortress.”

Herrera

Herrera is from the Latin word ferrāria and is symbolizing “iron works.” Boxer Aaron Herrera is the current WBC Mundo Hispano Lightweight Champion.

Castillo

Castillo originates in the word castillo (castle).

Paredes

”Walls.”

Rodriguez

“Son of Rodrigo.” Its Portuguese equivalent is Rodrigues.

Zavala

From Basque zabal, wide.

Madero

”Timber.” Francisco Madero started the Mexican Revolution.

Pastor

Shepherd.

Acevedo

Holly grove.

Uribe

Basque for ”lower town.”

Cano

Grey-haired.

Rojas

”Red.” Fernando de Rojas wrote La Celestina and published it in 1499.

Romero

Romero has roots in the Spanish word for “pilgrim.” It is originally from the Greek word Romaios.

Palma

Palm tree, palm of a hand, a sign of victory, or someone from Palma.

Salcedo

”Willow grove.”

Salinas

It comes from salinas (”salt pans” or ”salt works”) and the root is Latin salinae. Claudia Salinas was featured in Trace, Bello, FHM, Maxim, and GQ.

Sanchez

Sanchez has its origins in Sancho, ”consecrated” or ”sacred.”

Chavez

Chavez signifies keys.

Aguilar

‘Haunt of eagles’ and is originally from the Latin word L’Aquillare

Navarro

“Someone from Navarre”.

Ramirez

“Son of Ramiro” or “son of Ramon.”

Ortiz

Son of Orti.”

Flores

Flores has its origins in Floro, “flower.” Boxer Adam Flores was trained by Eduardo Garcia at La Colonia Boxing Club.

Torres

”Towers,” and is the plural of the Latin turris. It settled on families who lived near a watchtower or a keep.

Gómez

Gómez has origins in Gome which is from the Gothic root for man. As a patronymic it means ”a son of Gome.”

Díaz

”Son of Diego.”

Ruiz

Ruiz comes from Ruy, a diminutive of Rodrigo, ”son of Ruy.”

Ramos

Ramos is the word for ”branches or ”boughs” and is from the Latin ramus.

Morales

“Blackberry bush” or “dweller by the mulberry tree”.

Ríos

Ríos is from the Latin rivus (”river”).

Jiménez

Jiménez is linked with Jimeno which was once written Ximeno and is symbolizing ”son of Jimeno.” The x spelling was from the colonial-era papers and later changed to the modern j.

Moreno

”Someone dark haired” or ”dark complexioned” and has origins in the Latin maurus. Mario Moreno is well known throughout Spain and Latin America.

Muñoz

Muñoz comes from Munio (”son of Munio”).

Álvarez

”Son of Álvaro,” and its with Germanic and Visigothic origins. The ez ending is the sign.

Nogales

Walnut trees, and a border city in Sonora.

Benítez

Son of Benito, a name meaning ”blessed.”

Castro

Castro is from the Latin castrum and means a fort or fortified settlement.

Gallardo

Gallant, or graceful.

Rubio

”Blond,” or red, from Latin rubeus.

Sandoval

”New glade.”

Olmos

Elms.

Alcántara

From Arabic al-qantara, ”the bridge.”

Acosta

From the coast.

Corona

Crown, wreath, halo, or a monk’s tonsure.

Ayala

”Slope.”

Paz

”Peace”. Octavio Paz won a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Urquiza

From Basque urki, birch.

Cordero

Lamb.

Cabrera

Cabrera has roots in the Latin capra and is symbolizing “place of goats.”

Vázquez

Vázquez comes from the Basque Vasco (”son of Vasco”). Older records spell it Velázquez or Velasco.

Molina

”Mill,” and is from the Latin molina.

Mendoza

Mendoza is made of the Basque words mendi (”mountain” and (h)otz (”cold”). Antonio de Mendoza was the first viceroy of New Spain.

Guzmán

Guzmán is linked to a village in Burgos, Spain, and means ”good man.” Martín Luis Guzmán is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel.

Juárez

Juárez is a form of Suárez that is the patronymic for son of Suero.

Cárdenas

Cárdenas comes from cárdeno (”bluish purple”) and also towns in La Rioja and Almería.

Estrada

Estrada has origins in the Latin strata, a paved road.

Cervantes

Cervantes has roots in ciervo (”the stag” as well as in the word for servant so pick whichever you like. Miguel de Cervantes is known for his novel Don Quixote.

Mendieta

”Place of mountains.”

Alonso

”Noble and ready.”

Covarrubias

”Red caves.” Miguel Covarrubias drew caricatures for Vanity Fair.

Zapata

”Shoe,” or a shoemaker. Emiliano Zapata fought for land in the Mexican Revolution.

Linares

Flax fields.

Meza

Table, or flat high ground.

Fierro

”Iron.”

Peña

”Rock” or ”crag,” and is from the Latin pinna.

Serrano

“Dweller from the mountains”.

Bautista

Bautista is from the title Baptist for John the Baptist.

Silva

It has origins in Latin silva, woods.

Escobar

Escobar has roots in escoba (broom).

Carrillo

”Jaw.” In 1959 Álvaro Carrillo wrote the bolero Sabor a mí.

Beltrán

Beltrán has origins in the Germanic Bertrand that is made of beraht (”bright”) and hraban (”raven”). Lola Beltrán was specialized in the musical genres of ranchera.

Gutiérrez

”Son of Gutierre.”

Tapia

It comes from tapia, a mud wall.

Santos

”Saints”.

Balam

”Jaguar.” Maya books called Chilam Balam use this word.

Miranda

”Admirable,” or a place with a wide view.

Quintero

Quintero is a job name for a farmer who worked a quinta and paid the owner a 5th of the harvest.

Garza

”Heron.”

Luna

Moon.

Calderón

”Big cauldron,” and Spanish for a fermata in music.

Echeverría

Basque for ”new house,” pronounced eh-cheh-veh-REE-ah.

Robles

Oaks.

Solís

Solís is from the Latin sol, the sun, and is also a village in Asturias.

Ibarra

”Plain by the river”.

Lagos

”Lakes”.

Popoca

From Nahuatl, ”it smokes,” a root shared with Popocatépetl volcano.

Gallegos

”Galicians.”

Lobato

Wolf cub.

Larrea

Pasture, and a genus for creosote bush.

Valdez

”Son of Baldo,” or someone from a valley.

Chan

Small, in Yucatec Maya.

Rosas

Roses.

Aguirre

Basque for ”prominent place.”

Hidalgo

From hijo de algo, ”son of someone.” A Mexican state is after for Miguel Hidalgo.

Leal

”Loyal”.

Figueroa

From Galician figueira, fig tree.

Ugarte

”Between waters.”

Infante

Prince, or child. Pedro Infante acted in Mexico’s golden age of cinema.

Campos

”Fields.”

Barrera

”Barrier,” or a clay pit.

Zaragoza

From Caesaraugusta, ”city of Caesar Augustus.” Puebla’s full name is Puebla de Zaragoza.

Medina

From Arabic madina, ”city.”

Mares

Seas.

Prieto

”Dark.”

Lozano

Lush, or proud.

Granados

”Pomegranate trees.”

Becerra

Young cow.

Salazar

It combines Basque sala and zahar, ”old hall.”

Pech

A Yucatec Maya surname with a meaning that I find funny: ”tick.”

Durán

”Enduring”.

Villa

Town.

Peralta

From pedra alta, ”high rock.”

Ek

Star.

Montalbán

Ricardo Montalbán (”white mountain”) played Khan in Star Trek.