A few weeks back we asked readers to suggest last names to be explored and explained. The surnames with the most requests happened to end in –ez. We like to make you happy. First, we need to touch on how many names originating in Spain function.
Most Hispanic surnames, including those that end in –ez, fall into a few general categories. Many family names are based on a character or physical trait describing the original bearer of the name. For example, if your last name is Delgado, it’s possible that your great-great-great grandfather was a skinny fellow. (Delgado means “thin” is Spanish.)
Geographical surnames are also very common. These names are formed based on the location where a family lived — sometimes centuries ago.
There are also occupational surnames, which also date back centuries. This is a category that many non-Spanish surnames fall into as well. Take Smith or Miller for example.
But as for the common suffix –ez, patronymic considerations are at play. These family names are formed by adding a suffix to the end of a father’s name. The suffix –ez means “descendant of.”
Here are the definitions and contexts of some of the most frequent –ez names:
• Hernandez means “son of Hernando” or “son of Fernando,” which derives from the German name Ferdinand, or “bold voyager.”
• Gonzalez means “son of Gonzalo.” The name Gonzalo originates with the medieval name Gundisalvus. The word part gund means “war.”
• Perez means “son of Pero” and other versions of the name, such as Pedro and Petros. Pedro means “rock” in Spanish. It’s believed that the name comes from the apostle Simon, who Jesus called a rock, or foundation, of the church. The name may have also derived from “peral,” the name of a pear tree, or as a variation of the Sephardic Jewish surname Peretz.
• Gomez means son of Gome or Gomo. Gomme is the similar English surname. The Middle English word “gome” means “man.”
• Gutierrez means “son of Gutierre,” which means “he who rules.”
• Lopez means “son of Lope.” Lope is a name that comes from Lupus, a Latin name meaning “wolf.”
Now it’s your turn. Are there other last names you’d like us to elucidate? Start typing.
look at the last names McGill and Magill if you don’t mind?
What about the last name, ‘Galvan’ ????
What about Martinez?
How about Baez? Son of Ba?
I would like to know about Murguia, it’s an last name and the entire family is of Mexican roots
Santiago?
Nathan, I am sure that the same could be said for plenty of immigrants coming in from just about any place in the world at almost any given time in American history. Plenty of names got changed at Ellis Island due to near-illiteracy, and often on the part of the US citizen working with the immigrants, not the immigrant him or herself.
I am not sure what name would be changed to Johnson from Spanish as a best-guess in the world of phonetics. I’m thinking… not one?
I know alot of “Van Der ____” or “Van ______” or “Vander ____”
I know its Dutch, but what do the common prefixy bits do? Is there a difference the spaceing or capitalization adds? ((Van der, Van Der, Vander))
Does “deVere” follow any similarities?
Is it on purpose that the Barack Obama link has no content?
I would love to know what family names mean: Vige, Jagneaux, Bertrand.
My dad’s last name is ‘Dittman’, which is the Americanized of ‘Dittmar’, which is German. I would love more on either name! Or ‘Wilson’, which is my last name and one of the most common in the world.
What about the last name “Nuňez?” What is its origin?
what about Juarez?
how about Kirby? sometimes its spelled “Kerby” because of the high percentage of illiteracy back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Also how about “Colwell”?
In proto-linguistics, HERNANDEZ H-ERNANDEZ is The-Ernandez.
ERNANDEZ UR-NAN DISH is ancient Phyrexian for “Bowl of cheese,”
therefore HERNANDEZ literally means “Bowl of cheese,” probably referring to the bowl of cheese eaten by Utnapishtim in The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Saf.
What about Deras? I would love to know what it means.
hi¡ i’m spanish and my surname is martínez and idont know what really means
someone wants to help?
What about Creason?
What about names that end in -ster or -xter, like Webster, Baxter, Dexter etc?
Nunez = Son of a nun?
Yes, Judy, I am well aware that was the case.
How about Balen? It is a Croatian last name from Sveti Rok,Lovinac, Croatia, and due to family history issues (the wars), we are unable to find out about it.
[...] EZ ain’t that difficult — in fact it’s rather Easy. — The complication is some result of focus or lack of when reading Ken Kezey. — The Merry Pranksters had it down — doin the LOCO-MOTION — somewhere came the profit motive out of the Cuckoo’s Nest and the Pharmaceutical industry taketh all the money — and leave side effectSEZ the rest. — Is any of that funny?–>> Rupert L.T.Rhyme [...]
“Pedro” does not mean rock.”Piedra” means rock and it actually derives from the apostle Peter.
Um…If were you guys I wouldn’t put my last name on this site….other people can read them which isn’t good…and I’m only in middle school and I know that
How about the “ier” commonly tacked onto the end of French names?
The Italian family name Ballati has been a mystery to me. The first part, Balla, can be associated with songs or poetry, such as in the English word ballad, as well as to dancing. Perhaps it harkens back to a man (or possibly a family line) that was identified as a balladeer, musician, dancer or raconteur.
The name ending ~ati has been a greater mystery. It appears to be a plural form of ~ato in Italian, while it also seems to be a common ending for family names from India; could there be a link between Italy and India?
What about the last name Seto? It’s from my dad side. I’m not sure if it’s Japanese but I’m not Japanese. Also can you see Chen? Thanks if you answer~!
How about Rodriguez??
Can you please find the origins of the surname “Pluck”?
STEWART!!!
OH yeah and my grandma’s maiden name was Hooker no joke 
My last name is Lara. I am first generation mexican american and I have noticed that my last name is not popular. I’ve only met one person with the same last name as me that wasn’t a relative. I would really like to know what it means.
I know it is a place in England or was at some point but the surname Feltham, all I can find of it is some really old history not the meaning of it.
How about Gengenbach?
what about the last name sanchez ??
Ramirez, por favor?
What about Bermudez ?
how about Jimenez?
i have a request. could you try to find out for me what the etymology of my last name is? thanks in advance!
I would really like to know where ‘Mariot’ and ‘de Maria’ come from 
^^ And also what they mean
I’d like to know about the surnames Efird and Goodman please!
What about such names in relation to animals?? I would like to think they are uncommon and have an interesting back round behind it, at the same time this could be a case of :write what they sound like” when speaking during transition at Ellis Island.. Names : Bear .. Eagles ..
Could you clarify Dominguez?
I have an idea… but you could probably do a better job than me.
Judy, I’m quite sure Nathan was kidding.
How about the surname “Sackett”?
look for “Longani” please—-we had our origin in Swat Valley in present day Pakistan. We migrated to India in 1947!!
@ Maria: Check out http://hotword.dictionary.com/last-name-ends-in-ez/. I think Juarez would fall into the geographical surname category.
I’ve always wondered about my maiden name, Hartley. My guess is that my ancestors were hunters…
Could you look up the origin or more information about the last name : Liceaga.
Thanks!
Huezo.
I haven’t been able to decipher it yet. Maybe you can help a bit, haha? XD
Anything for the last name Ruehl? It’s also Ruhl and Rühle. I know it’s from north-western Germany but is there any significance or meaning to it?
Yes! What about Nuňez? Please, please, please give us info on Nuňez!
BTW, Elsa was funny! “son of Ba?” lol! Then we Nuňez would been sons of Nuns?
What about BenitEZ. Would it be like descendant of Benito? 
What would that mean?
what about the surname “Litonjua?”
if you could look up ”Wikfors” please? from what i’ve been told it’s of swedish heritage, but i’ve never been able to find any origin on it.
how about Corona? And Fernandez? son of Fernando!?!?!
I would like to know more about the last name, Bartlett, if at all possible?
what about Rodriguez?
what about Gongora
how about Catalfano?
Ah, good explanation for something that’s often overlooked!
Some comments from an Spanish native:
- “Pedro” does not mean “rock”. They share similarities in their latin roots, though. “Perez” does not mean “son of Pero”, as “Pero” means nothing either: it means “son of Pedro”. BTW, “Petro” is not a Spanish name; it is Italian.
- “Santiago” comes from “San Yago” (“San” means “Saint” in English). It is referred to the apostle.
- “Nuñez” means “son of Nuño”, that is also a Spanish name (maybe old-fashioned, and not really used any more).
- I do not agree with the idea that a Spanish name comes from an English or German name. All languages have been developed through history, and I think it is not fair to think that a language like Spanish is derivated from English or German… What is fair is to say that they both have indoerupean roots, although old hispanic languages were more influenced by Latin during the Roman empire.
- Last, let me point that patronymic considerations are not only used to create Spanish surnames, but also English surnames (look at McDonald, for example). I guess, even with different languages, our antecesors shared the same traditions.
how about the surnames Belleza and Gervacio?
Pedro doesn’t mean “rock” in Spanish: the word for “rock” is “piedra”, or “roca”. Actually, the name Pedro shares origins with “Peter”, which (according to the Wikipedia), “is derived, via Latin “petra”, from the Greek word πετρος (petros) meaning “stone” or “rock”.
Wow, thanks for the heads-up! Interesting! How about Alvarez?
@Nathan, you do know that most of the West Coast was once owned buy Mexico? Right? So that would mean Americans actually went to Mexico first.
what about “NAYAK” its indian surname..
Selena Gomez
What about the last name Messer, or Blair????
McGill and Magill – Both Mc and Ma come from mac – son off (Gaelic). Probably meant son off a Gaul ie Freench or possibly Welch person. As Bretons and Welsh were seen as being the same race – Celtics and not Gaelic (Irish). Ireland has almost no Celtic influence – is spite of what the Paddywhackery shops tell visitors. The Celtic status was invented (by a Welshman) during the reign of Victoria to give a feeling of family to the people of these islands.
Just as O’ means off – son off. Ní is daughter used nowadays mostly if we Irish are using the Irish/Gaelic form of our names. eg My name is Peter O’Connor – Irish form Peadar Ó Conchubhair. My Sister Elizabeth is Éilish Ní Chonchubhair. Note the family name takes on a “sébhehe or h to denote female form”.
BTW The tallest range of mountains in Ireland are the McGuillacuddy Reeks in Kerry. One of the nearest natural seaports is Bally na nGall – area of the Foreignness/Welsh.
You are exactly right on the Spanish suffix ‘ez’; however, further, there is a geographic distinction between the suffix ‘ez’ and ‘es’. As you state correctly ‘ez’ is of Spanish origin while ‘es’ is of Portuguese origin.
For example, ‘Moralez’ is of Spanish origin while ‘Morales’ is of Portuguese origin.
You see I know the last name messer (which is my mothers last name) is from germany and my dads last name (which is also my last name) means “beauty/maker of bells” and it comes from Great Britain. So I would like to know what the last name messer means??? I would like to know cause my first name is french and it means Beloved and my middle name is Hebrew and it means Pure. And if you put those together it says beloved pure beauty/maker of bells and that sounds really weird to me. So if you could let me know that would be great!!! Thanks!!!
Nevermind i just found it!!!! My mom last name means dirt!!!! Wow that’s messed up!!!! So if i had my moms last name my name would mean beloved pure dirt!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!! I’m glad it’s not!!!!!!!!!
OMG!!!! I was just talking to my dad about our family name and it turns out he has a book with the names of some of the people who are related to us. Tony Blair is my 7th cousin, Bobby Bowden is my 15th cousin, there was a king in the 17th centry who is related to us and One of my cousins rode with Billy the kid. Whos real name is william wright.
I have a unique name that I’ve really never heard anyone else but Jesus to have, yep it’s CHRIST, what does that mean besides the obvious?
Can you please tell me what does “Prat” mean? That is the exact spelling. My family on both side are from Spain.
OK, i want to know what Ramirez means.
I would love to learn more about the name Ritchin. Other than family members, I’ve never met another person with that surname. Every time I’ve traveled to a new city I always check the phone books but I’ve never come across “Ritchin”.
Thank you so much.
Likewise, with Scottish names the prefix Mc or Mac means “son of” or “descended from”. The same characteristic is seen with the Irish names beginning with O’.
I like your explanation, but in school they all said that most of the -ez last names were actually created after the 500 year war against the “moros” invasion in Spain, to identify the Moroccan families who had convert to Christianity. Now, is there any connection in there? And what about Martinez, Rodriguez, Dominguez and D’Cruze?
What about Dominguez?
how about the origns of bachelot,(french), thigpen, and holcom? thanks
How about Manuel?
My husband’s family name is ‘Hough’ pronunced ‘Hoak’. They originated in Germany, emigrated to England, then on to America and eventually to Canada at the time of the American Revolution. They have doggedly held on to the pronunciation through the centuries dispite all the confusion and need to habitually spell the name at reception desks.
Is there a difference between the prefixes Mc- & Mac-, as in McAllister & MacAllister? I have read that European names were often based on the person’s occupation; so what exactly would an “allister” do??
Rodriguez?
I would greatly appreciate it if you looked at “ELDER.” The most common explanation is that it was the term used to describe the oldest person in a village, but I don’t see how such a common term could become a Sir name I so rarely hear.
Hello, in aswer to Mark’s request to explain names with Van, Van der, Vander, Van de etc…
“Van” is indeed a Dutch word meaning “from” or “of”.
“De” is the article “the”.
My own name suggest that my ancestors came from a town called “Herle”. Vanbrussel meaning their ancestors were from Brussels etc…
These names do not always include a city name. We also have names meaning “coming from the woods (Vandenbossche/Vandenbos/Van den Bos…), from the fields (Vandevelde), from the pastures (Vanderweyden, as in the painter Rogier Vanderweyden), from the chapel (Vandekapelle), from the garden (Vanthuyne), from the hedge (Vanderhaeghen), from the big house (Vangrootenhuyse), … the complete list would be very long.
Names starting with “de” in small letters are usually names of the nobility. It is the same as “van”, but actually it’s french. Nobility spoke French even in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Some of them still do, because they think it’s “chique”.
“De” with capital would be Dutch, and the equivalent of “the” in for instance Sir Galahad the Chaste. It could describe a quality, characteristic or maybe a resemblance.
We have family names meaning “the frog” (Depuydt),”the cat” (Decadt), “the rooster” (Dehaene>>ex prime minister of Belgium) “the tall” (Degroote)”the short” (Decorte), “the long” (Delange), “the virgin” (Demaegdt), “the brown” (Debruyne), the white (De Witte),”the blacksmith” (Desmet), etc…
I hope this helps a bit?
Last name of DeColaines?? any help??
Can you look up the surnames Williams, Lieberum, Donovan & Stark, please?
And I love the flash cards. Thanks
Very interesting post. What about the last name Marcelo or Mercedez?
This is from personal experience of searching out my ancestors, but my last name: Duplantier means: “From the planters” in old French and my ancestors and their descendants still have vineyards and farms in northern France.
what about this one….Arriaga?
how about SAMBOY and PICHARDO?
My maiden name is IUS. I’d like to know the origin of that. I know it’s Latin and means law. It can also be spelled JUS (as the J and I are pronounced the same in Italian.
What’s the name “Fallas” originate from in Spanish?
What about Ramirez
and Suarez?
Why Is Billy So Hot?
‘Delgado means “thin” is Spanish.’ I think you mean Delgado means “thin” IN Spanish.
how about dagongdong?
What about the last name Leeger? I know that I have Scottish ancestory; could it be Scottish in origin?
What about te last name martinez??
and arredondo &almaguuer?
My father’s last name was “Harris” and he was part Scot-Irish and Indian to my knowledge. My mother’s maiden name was “Voss” but her mother’s maiden name was “Giese”, with my Mom’s grandparents, her mother and herself being pure German. Can you expand a little on these names?
Can you look up the name “CARABALLO” please?
What about Rodriguez?
I know my grandfather came from Spain.
My maiden name is Perez so I found this quite interesting! Of more interest is the fact that the name Perez appears on the first page of the new testament “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah…” as Jesus’ lineage is described so to say that it has Hispanic origins is questionable and it seems more reasonable that Peretz is the variation of Perez and not the other way around. Furthermore, I’ve read that Peretz may have been a way for Jews to disguise their names and make them sound less Jewish during WWII.
could you do something on basque last names?
possibly uribe in there haha
Please tell me about the last name of Null. I know its just nothing to you but with those with that last name, it’s quite a lot. Thanks.
How about “Guardiola”…?
Please elucidate Rewey.
last name Lilas
The last name “Chavez” ( as the last name of the “president” of Venezuela: Hugo Chavez), means son of a bitch
Everyone always asks me “is your last name Fisher because you like to fish?” And I’ve only fished once in my lifetime, so obviously not.
I’d like to know what Fisher really means
Nathan, I don’t buy into your premise that Mexicans or any other immigrants to the United States, did not know how to spell their surnames. History has documented that English-speaking staff at Ellis Island, stymied by foreign spellings, did not have the time or did not care enough to take the time to record accurate spellings. That sloppy approach led to new arrivals to our country leaving the island with new spellings of their names. Mr. Dmochowsky from Poland(dem-o-chow-skee) became Mr. Dmosky. Mrs. Durrer from Germany became Mrs. Durr.
Many immigrants, entering the United States under stressful and intimidating circumstances, declined to correct the American processors. In addition, some immigrants believed they were required to adopt a more acceptable English version of their surnames.
I will make an uneducated guess that more Mexican-Americans, not processed through Ellis Island and arriving in a more recent wave, have actually preserved their original surname spellings.
I was at a family reunion a few years ago and my great uncle told my sister and I what are last name meant. I knew that DeHaan means The Cock(rooster) in Dutch, but I didn’t know why someone would name themselves after a rooster. Apparently I’m descended from Nederland chicken farmers?
The spelling of our name was changed by my great grandfather Leopold Max Bashinsky when he immigrated. The Polish spelling was Baczynski. I think he did this to cover his Polish Jewish roots. This is only conjecture on my part, however. Do you have any input on this name?
Please check Montanez, Gallegos, Rios, Arrellin
Interesting.
What about the last name “Borrego”?
Please and thank you!
You forgot to address one of the most common -ez last names: Sanchez. This is reason I wanted to read the article and also the reason I was sorely disappointed after doing so.
Where does the name “HUETTE” come from?
How about CORTEZ?
how about Adison or Addison? just wondrin…
I’d like to learn more about my maiden name, Bettencourt (which also has some variations in spelling). All I know is that it’s Portuguese. Thanks!
In regard to Nathan’s comment on September 23, 2010.
Mexicans didn’t “come” to the US. Like most Americans, you (conveniently) forget that California, New Mexico and Texas were Mexican territory.
What about the last name Díaz ? I have heard that it is of Hebrew origin. I would like to clarify that since my ancestry is from Spain.
I’d like to know the etymology of the surname “Dallaire.” I’m pretty sure it has French origins, and it’s quite popular in Canada.
Actually I have a perfect name that requires some looking into. My last name ends with an -ez but I’m not sure where or how it came about, because I noticed I have never come across any other people with the same last name as this, “Manriquez” Thanks in advance =)
Please give the meaning of my family name of Woerz (German)
How about ‘Scilex’ or ‘Schreck’?
Or the meaning of my mothers maiden name Moers (German)
What about the surname Benavides?
Surname: Freeze, probably Dutch; Fries. Can you help with this one?
My name membreno is rare. I do not know it’s origin. I’m from el salvador by may parents born in america. can you send info?
What about: Terriquez? and the last name: Carlos?? Thanks =)
How about these three:
– Hunt
– Ahlkvist and/or Alchivst
– Klimkov
What about the last name Rudeau?
I know that my surname means warrior, however, does it mean my ancestors were warriors or knights?
what about the last name “Flasher”? it was my great-great-great grandfather’s surname and I’m pretty sure he was either Irish or Scots-Irish. I’d love to have more information. Thanks
Sanchez means “son of Sancho”, a very popular name in Spain .
Remember Sancho Panza, from El Quijote?
Can you find out about a Mexican last name “Vera”? …the “V” is pronounced as a “b” in spanish.
I’ve heard that people with Spanish last names that end in -EZ have Jewish roots. Does anyone have additional information?
Hi,
Are you able to find out anything about the name “Kasendi”. My grandfather changed his name from Klein to Kasendi in 1938. All I know is that it’s an Estonian name and loosley meaning birch grove.
What about the last name Sewell?
What about the Spanish last name Estrada?
Salgado was very rare when I was young, but now there are plenty. unfortunetly I know none. Please give me some significence of my Last name. Totally lost.
I guess it goes almost without saying, or without spelling in this case, but many names are derived from misspellings or phonetic spellings and corruptions of the original. Take the name Kavanaugh, for instance, but don’t take it in vain. More than 200 similar names all are derived from the Irish name “Caomhanach.” Among them are Cavanaugh, Kavanaugh, Cavana, Kavna, etc. It is also likely that when the Normans and Brits were oppressing the Irish for 650 years, they didn’t take great care about how names were spelled or pronounced, as long as they got the punctuation correct.
Sometimes my first name is used as a last name and no one knows the origin of my first name can yo please define “Kittrie”
How about Seijas? and Santos?
Can you check out Angulo? Entire Family is of Mexican descent. Thanks so much!
Boulez?
I am curious about Dunn and Kirejewski. Thanks!
Malohn – bet no one asks about this last name. My father’s family was pure German and maintain the name is German. I was told once it meant ” a little bit of money”. An Irish history teacher I had sweared it was a galec spelling of Malone, however I found no listing for this name in Ireland only in Germany. Also would love to know about Galvez (son of Gal?), the family is from Nicagaria? and San Salvador. Thanks, Elle
I would like to know the origins of my surname – Arnold. Any ideas?
They left out the history of how the -EZ endings started. It goes back to when the Germans, not what we know as modern day Germany, but the Germans that invaded, conquered, and ruled Spain before the Romans invaded. I’m kind of surprised that they didn’t add this part in.
What about the surname of Jauregui (of Spanish origin)
How about Joyce and Joyner? Thx.
Is Eisner from the German Eisen, meaning “iron”?
What about Peter, rock of the Catholic Church — then to Perez?
OG- Pedro is a derivative of the Latin petrus, which means rock. piedra derives from petrus as well. Peter is the English version of Pedro. Therefore, Pedro does indeed mean rock. BTW, Peter’s original name was Simon, distinguished in the Bible as Simones Petrus, or Simon the Rock, later just commonly known as the rock, or Peter.
@liza (“How about Manuel?”):
Manuel is from a shortening of Emmanuel or Immanuel.This is a Jewish name that comes from the Hebrew ‘imanū-ēl, meaning “God is with us”, from the word ‘im meaning “with” and the suffix -anū, -nū meaning “us, we, ours”. Forms of the root are:
‘imī – with me
‘imakh with you (singular masculine and neuter)
‘imekha – with you (singular feminine)
‘imakhem – with you (plural masculine and neuter)
‘imakhen – with you (plural feminine)
‘imō – with him; with it
‘imah – with her; with it
‘imanū – with us
‘imahem – with them (masculine and neuter)
‘imahen – with them (feminine)
Correction:
‘imakh – with you (singular masculine and neuter)
‘imekha – with you (singular feminine)
The other way around. My bad.
Alvarez: Son of Alvaro.
Ramírez: Son of Ramiro.
Jiménez: Son of Jimeno (the female form Jimena is more commonly used nowadays).
Rodríguez: Son of Rodrigo.
Cortez: Derived from the Spanish word Cortés, which means courteous or polite.
Díaz: patronymic from the medieval personal name Didacus (also Diego).
Benítez: Son of Benito.
Sánchez: Son of Sancho.
Juárez: Surname of galician origin. It could mean son of Juaro, but of that I’m not sure.
Also, Spanish surnames with Hebrew or Jewish roots make perfect sense. Seeing as a great Jewish community lived in Spain during the Middle Ages, until they expulsion in 1492. This is where the Sephardic Jews originated from.
How about the last name Derjanecz? I’ve managed to find some information about the French (Lemaire), British (Bellemy) and Irish (Melady) surnames in my family, but not Derjanecz, which is Hungarian.
What about the last name Chapa, this name is not that common. At least that is what I see in my area. Almost anyone who is named Chapa has turned out to be related.
the last name “Seldon”
What aboutthe last name Yates? It was my great grandfathers name and it’s german.
Thanks
what about irog? in our native language it means love,.. i would like to know the origins of my surname..thank you!!
Please share the origin of the names Diaz & Reyes – thanks!
what about TORREBLANCA? I know it literally translates to white tower? But is that the origin or is there more to it???
I would like to know what “Carrion” means and were dos it come from.
What’s the origin of the surname Magellan? I know it an Anglicized version of the Portuguese name Magalhaes, but I’ve heard differing theories that Magalhaes was derived from either French or Irish roots. Thank you.
I would like to know more about my last name “Zertuche”. I know my Parents, Grandparents, & Great Grandparents are from Mexico. I have found out by way of a newspaper article that this name orignated in Spain and spelled “Sertuche”. If you could enlighten me with more information that would be great.
Also, “Castillon” which just from the spelling directs my thoughts to Spain as well. I believe from a region that I have heard as “Castillian” or near the country of Portuguese.
Thanks
My Last name is Cousin, it is pronouced ” COOZAN “. I know its french and I have been told it refers to a cousin of male pursuation. What I want to know is why is the procounciation “taught” (in English) to be
“cuzin”. Every time I meet someone new, I have to explain that it is not cousin, as in your relative. Can you help me out ?
Thanks
Jeanine Cousin
My last name is Hillel, and my dad’s jewish. Where does it come from and where do the names Barczewski/ska and Karlbarczik come from?
What about the Aleman? which translates to German. But where does it derive from?
What about the spanish last name Caro. It literally means expensive in spanish but what roots does it derive from?
tell me about my last name please “Teista” i have not been able to find much information on it. Thank you.
My last name is Guzman. I am of Hispanic descent, but I know if the name is spelt with an “s” instead of a “z,” it is considered Jewish. Where does my name come from?
Also, what about the last name: Martinez? Where does that come from?
That’s my mother’s maiden name and it ends in a “ez” as well.
What about Uzcategui? It’s from Spain. I want to know what it means
I know it’s German, but what about Fuchs?
I would be very interested to know the origin of the English surname Wareham.
Yes, just like the reindeer, but obviously no relation. lol Could you please tell me the origin of my last name and/or its meaning. I’m told I’m related to a king or something. It would be a good story for the day
@Agathe:
Hillel is from the Hebrew root h-l-l, meaning “to praise”. This is also the root of the English “hallelujah”.
@Nikki:
Fuchs is German for “fox”.
Jeanine: pronunciations shift over the centuries–we no longer pronounce the w in ’sword’ or the gh in ‘thought’. English is a little lazy with its vowels, and so ‘coozan’ was slurred into ‘cuzzin.’ As much as it may distress French nationals and inconvenience Cousins, ‘cuzzin’ is taught as the proper English pronunciation because it IS, just as ‘thought’ is pronounced ‘thawt.’ 
What about the last name Eberts? What the heck is it supposed to mean? lol
does anyone know about Torres? I know that generally it refers to “towers.” I have also been told several times from different people that names ending with -es or -ez are Sephardic, but blanketed with Spanish or other Latin influenced country/power. Any knowledge is much appreciated!
I saw some of you ask what happen with surnames like “Santiago”. It’s because long time ago, when the people register begun, a lot of people hadn’t any surname, and when they went to register their children, they put their own names as a surname for the children.
You, guys!
It’s the same for every ez-ending name, so Martínez would be “Son of Martin” and Álvarez, “son of Alvaro”, just apply the annalogy to your EZ ending name!
A for Wilson, Johnson, and almost every English name with the same ending, the suffix “son” litterally means “son”, hence Wilson would be “Son of Will”, Johnson “Son of John”, Peterson “Son of Pete” etc.
Hope it helped!
*Peterson would be son of PeteR! :p
What about Tyma? It is shortened of something Russian and my grandma’s maiden name is Gonzowski. What does the “ski” or “sky” mean at the end?
Also, what about “Van” in Dutch names.
how about “de la” or “dela” in de la cruz, de la rosa, de la pena? “de” in de guzman?
Hello,
I wonder if you would know the origin(s) of my maiden name: Courteau.
Thank you for your time.
@mark v: in both Dutch and German, Van- means that the family was part of Prussian nobility in the 16 and 1700’s.
I was wondering if the last name santerfeit was Latin, if not, what is it?
what is my name meaning
What does this name mean?
I would like to know where did the last name chapa originated and what does it mean. My dad was born in the state of Durango, Mexico.
how about Lively and Munoz?
Could you look at Durham and Santiago for me?
Can you find the meaning of “Cruz Estrada” I translated it into “Cross Roads” can you check it for me?
What about Medrano?
what about these last names…
Guillen=
Ulloa=
Martinez=
Macias=
Avila=
Lucero=
Barrajas=
Trejo=
Cota
MEANING OF THE SUFFIC EZ OR ES:
To understand the meaning of the suffic of “EZ” and “ES” of last names it first requires us to look back in history of Spain the Iberian Peninsula. We begin with the fact that the word for “Spain” (Iberia) in Hebrew is “Sepharad”. Sepharad or Sefer is where the word Sephardic comes from and means “the people of the Holy Book”. There are two major types today of what is called Jews in Judaism. One is the Ashkenazi Jew meaning German or Slavic speaking Jews and the other is Sephardic Jew or Spanish speaking or Spanish descent Jews.
Spain the Iberian Peninsula was originally just called “IBERIA” and native people were called “Ibry’s” or Iberian’s. The Greeks said their native name was Ibry or Iber. Now the root word for Hebrew is “Ibriy” (developed from the old Hebrew words “EBER” and “ABAR”). Now EBER is the great grandson of SHEM, and SHEM is one of the three sons of NOAH. The word Shem or Sem is were we get the word Semitic and Anti-Semitic means hostile against the Hebrew people or in today’s meaning “anti-Jewish” or “hostile toward Jews”.
The suffic EZ means “Eres Zion” or “of/or from Zion” or “from the land of Jerusalem, Israel”. The phrase “Of Zion” is a common phrase though out the Hebrew Bible. Thus the word ZIONISM that refers to the movement both spiritual and political in the modern State of Israel, which is controlled by the Ashkenazi Jews.
So Iberia is one of the old names of modern Spain and means “the land of the Hebrew people” or “the Hebrew’s Land” and dates hundreds of years before the common era (BCE) of the Roman Empire/The Roman Catholic Church. Iberia’s root meaning also came from both the Ebro River and the Ebro Valley which is on the east side of Spain running north and south. Ebro means Hebrew also.
The children of Israel which are Hebrew through Abraham and Israeli through Abraham’s grandson Israel (previously known as Jacob) have been called the “sons of Zion”, “daughters of Zion” and the “children of Zion” for thousands of years and throughout the Hebrew Bible. Now the Sephardic, Iberian, Hebrew, Hispanic or the descendants of Spain the Iberian Peninsula are root Hebrews before the Roman Empire and The Roman Catholic Church invaded and started the Spanish Inquisition and Earlier Inquisition.
The Roman Catholic Church renamed it from Iberia to Ezpanna ( a Hebrew/Basque word meaning “the border or land of Yah (God)” and later changed it to Espania. Espania’s new meaning is possibly “the Land of Pan”. This is referring to the Greek mythical god Pan (or the goat man – the upper part is man and the lower part is a goat) who ruled the mountains and pastures. Today Pan is called the Devil or Satan. The word devil in Hebrew simply means “goat”.
During the Inquisitions the land was plagued with torcher, killings and war, forcing all the native Hebrews to convert Catholic Christian or die. The blood shed was almost identical to a time in earlier history when Babylon wiped out the land of Yahudah (Judah the southern part of the original Israel). In the book of EIKHAH (LAMENTATION) 4:2, the prophet YermeYahuw (Jeremiah) is describing the horrors of war and destruction and then refers to the Hebrew people as “THE PRECIOUS SONS OF ZION”.
Thus during the new horrors of war and destruction in Spain, the Spanish Hebrews added the suffix EZ meaning ERES ZION to the last names to identify their HEBREW roots for future reference. The meaning was not just “the son of” as writers tell us today, but the meaning was the “PRECIOUS SONS OF ZION”. The others who converted to the Catholic Christian religion also added a suffix to the last names and that was “ES”, which meant “EREZ SION” or “we are converso’s” or “we are of the new testament Catholic Church”. This was to avoid further inquisitions in the lives. Some hid under the disguise of pretending to be converted but was secretly keeping the Hebrew laws and teachings, these were called “Crypto Jews” meaning hidden Hebrews.
Now the surname (last name) “PEREZ is an ancient Hebrew (now Hispanic) name which means “break forth from the womb”. Perez is one of Yahudah’s (Judah’s) twin sons. Here is the lineage of Abraham. Abraham’s son was Isaac (one of many sons), Isaac’s son was Israel (twin to Esau and previously known as Jacob), Israel’s 4th son was Judah (one of 12 sons-the 12 tribes of Israel, from 4 wives), and Judah’s son was Perez (also spelled Pharez/s and twin to Zarah). Perez today is an ancient Spanish name. In Hebrew the surname Perez is spelled Perets, the “ts” in Hebrew is translated as a “Z”, and pronounced “PEREZ”.
So Sanchez means “the holy ones of Zion”, Rodriguez means “the power and wealth of Zion”, “Florez means the flower of Zion”, Mendez means “to mend or repair the breach or rebuild the old ways of Zion”, Cortez means “the court of Zion” or “the laws of God”.
This is all part of a book that I have been researching and writing titled,
“THE HEBREW HISPANIC HISTORY”. If you search you can find more of my writings for the past ten years on the internet. For more information or questions just contact me. I welcome all comments.
May Yah bless you and help you on you quest for truth,
Yaron Yahudah Cortez
benjudahlion@yahoo.com
How many are so anxious to demonstrate their ignorance by correcting the master instead of learning what they can from the lesson.
Where do you suppose Latin-languages and even English have derived their words? You split hairs over the issue of the spelling or root meaning of piedra, petra, and so on. You will NEVER grasp the complexities of surnames if your mind is so closed to how languages and names evolve. Pedro. Rock. Simple. I pity you.
By the way, for our Biblical scholar friend, do you recall who Peter was? That GOD Almighty changed his name to Peter from… Wait for it… Simon!
It’s better to keep your mouth shut sometimes and let people presume your ignorance than to open it and remove all doubt.
I would like to know the origin of the name Izzo and Loput and the meaning of each name.
Of course many Italians have the last name Izzo, but some people are suggesting it may have older origins in Arabia. In fact there is a Saint in Morocco named St. Izzo.
Could I get more information please?
Hi, I would like to know the origin of the last name Brevé. A friend once told me that it was written Brevette in French, but lately I’ve found that in Holland there are a lot of people with my last name, and through Elli’s Island manifest of people arriving to American there two brothers that arrived from Amsterdam to New York at the end of 1800’s.
thanks for your time
Is Cortez really Jewish? Ithought it was Spaniard.
Hey guys! All you folks out there with Germanic/Spanish last names, ever thought about changing them back to the original Germanic? ie :
Henrique = Ham-Reich (homestead ruler) or
Gonzalez = Gundislav (battle elf) ? I think that would be totally fu%$in cool!
Okay you experts….what are the “Rules” for describing, helping others in spelling of our names, addresses etc? Example….for first name BRUCE……Binary for B; Radical for R; Ursula for U; Calorie for C; Edward for E. What do I know ?
Q: Is there a ‘proper’, widely used list of these helpful ‘codes’ ?
Eureka….I found it Re my question above)….here it is:
———————————————————-
ALPHABET (PHONETIC) – Devised for reasons of clarity in aviation voice radio, this is the current NATO version in global use:
…………………………………………………………….
ALFA BRAVO CHARLEY DELTA ECHO FOXTROT GOLF
HOTEL INDIA JULIET KILO LIMA MIKE NOVEMBER
OSCAR PAPA QUEBEC ROMEO SIERRA TANGO
UNIFORM VICTOR WHISKY X-RAY YANKEE ZULU
……………………………………………………………..
From ‘Aviation Glossary’ at URL http://aerofiles.com/glossary.html
Enjoy!!
The suffix-Ez means (Hernandez, Fernandez, etc) in Spanish meant son-of-hernan-or Fernando, just like in slavery, the son of john the slave, became Johnson, or the son of Michael, became Michaelson, or the son of Michael. ,
EZ equal to son in Spanish as son does to English for blacks. In other words: son of hernan= Hernand-ez, son of Fernando= Fernand-ez, Mendez= son of Mando
Hernaez??? I’ve been trying to find its origin, is it simply a deviation of hernandez?
how about Duarte? my bf last name mexican descendent
What about Montez? And Cortez?
I am a hundred percent Guatemalan.
What can you tell me about Belmontez and Galvez
what can i learn about Torrez and Guerrero?
Names that end in ez are also known to be Spanish Jew’s who hid during the inquisition by changing their last names but adding ez to secretly distinguish themselves as Jews. Rodriguez, Alvarez, Martinez, Perez and names like these can be associated wtih ancestry of Spanish-Jewish origin. Remember before the inquisition there were a ton of Jews living in spain.
I had a friend who was born in Mexico and she told me that her family had this long standing tradition for generations of lighting these candles on Friday night and having a meal. She never understood it and I explained to her that they were lighting shabbat candles and having shabbat dinner. Something most Jews and Israelis do every week.
Another thing to add to some people’s questions about first names. Emmanuel/Rafael these have been adapted mostly by Hispanic culture but originate from Hebrew. Immanu-El means “god is with us” Rofe-el litereally means god and doctor in Hebrew or in translation god’s healing. These names are mentioned in Hebrew scriptures and the old testament.
How about Peralta, Armendarez , and Villavicencio?? Please thanx for the info! 
If your last name ended with EZ then you have Jewish ancestry. During the Spanish Inquisition (1478 – 1834) The Jews were made to convert to Catholic or leave the country or be tortured. Many of the Spanish Jews had to convert in fear of losing their lives. The way the Church could distinguish between the Catholic and the “Jewish-Catholic” was to add the suffix EZ after their last name.
You should look up your ancestry and you will see your ancesters were JEWS.
Good news is that Christians got the Bible from the Jews and Jesus Christ (the Mesiah, Hebrew called Yeshua) was a Jew, circumcized as a Jew, preached in the Jewish Temple, and had a Bar Mitzvah on his thirteenth birthday. HE fulfilled the old testament. Therefore, now you can be a Jewish Christian or (Mesianic Jew).
anyone can tell me about last name TAMEZ and about REYES pls. email me,,atmez17@gmail.com ,,,,,, thanks
Guys Spanish surnames that end in ez are patronymic traditions that have visigothic origin. The visigoths were a Germanic tribe (goths) who moved into spain and established kingdoms after the roman empire fell
You can read more, just google it
I really like Spanish surnames, I think they are very pretty <3 I especially like Gutierrez and Fernandez as for Italian names I like Ferrari haha and all the onces that end in ci or li
I think Spanish and Italians have the best names haha they are just so pretty
I know that a long time ago when Mexicans first started to come to America and be a citizen, many people didn’t know how to spell their last names and changed it to their best guess. I think one example is Johnson, but I’m not one hundred percent sure.