400 Best Unique Mexican Surnames with Meanings for 2025

Mexican surnames carry a rich blend of Spanish, Indigenous (Aztec, Nahuatl, and Mayan), and Colonial influences, reflecting the country’s deep cultural and historical roots. This collection of 400 unique Mexican surnames with meanings for 2025 explores rare, traditional, and modern family names that tell stories of heritage, faith, nature, and identity.

Table of Contents

Rare and Distinctive Mexican Surnames

Surname	Meaning
Almazán	Derived from Arabic, meaning “the fortress”
Barrenechea	Basque origin meaning “low valley”
Castañeda	“Chestnut grove” or one who lives near chestnut trees
De la Cruz	“Of the cross”; symbolizing faith
Esquivel	Basque origin meaning “behind the house”
Galván	Means “spear” or “strong warrior”
Ibarra	“Valley” or “meadow” in Basque
Jiménez	“Son of Jimeno,” meaning “heard” or “listener”
Larrañaga	Basque for “near the farmstead”
Mendieta	“Place of many paths” in Basque
Olvera	From olive trees or “olive grove”
Quintanilla	“Small farmstead” or “estate”
Rivera	“Lives near the river”
Salgado	Means “salty” or “briny”
Tapia	“Wall” or “mud wall builder”
Valdés	“From the valley”
Zavala	“Flat land” or “meadow”
Arévalo	“Village by the river”
Beltrán	“Bright raven”
Cordero	“Lamb,” symbolizing innocence
Domínguez	“Son of Domingo” (Sunday-born)
Espinoza	“From the thorn bush”
Figueroa	“Fig tree” or “fig grove”
Guevara	“Place of the caves”
Hurtado	“Hidden” or “stolen”
Illanes	Basque origin meaning “high place”
Jaimes	Variant of James; “supplanter”
Loaiza	“Field” or “open land”
Meléndez	“Son of Melendo,” meaning “gentle protector”
Nájera	From the city of Nájera, meaning “place between mountains”
Ontiveros	“High pastures”
Pizarro	“Flat stone” or “rocky place”
Quintero	“Fifth” or “one who rents land”
Rentería	“Area of rivers”
Saavedra	“Old hall” or “ancient dwelling”
Tejada	“Roof” or “tilemaker”
Uribe	Basque for “village on a riverbank”
Vergara	“High pasture”
Zamudio	“Place between hills”
Aranda	“Valley of eagles”
Barragán	“Warrior” or “strong man”
Ceballos	“Small onion field”
Del Valle	“Of the valley”
Escobedo	“Broom field” or “place with shrubs”
Franco	“Free man”
Guerra	“War” or “battle”
Iturriaga	“Place of springs”
Ledesma	“Gentle” or “from Ledesma”
Morado	“Purple” or “mulberry-colored”
Novoa	“New place”
Orozco	“Birch tree”
Pedraza	“Stone place”
Quiroga	“Small farm” or “estate”
Rosales	“Rose bushes”
Salinas	“Salt flats”
Tenorio	“Romantic” or “gallant man”
Ulloa	“From the highlands”
Vizcaíno	“From Biscay (Basque region)”
Yáñez	“Son of Juan”
Zúñiga	“Place of abundance”
Arroyo	“Stream” or “brook”
Bravo	“Courageous” or “wild”
Cardoza	“Thistle” or “prickly plant”
De León	“Of the lion”
Enríquez	“Son of Enrique”
Farfán	“Traveler” or “pilgrim”
Grijalva	“Riverbank”
Hidalgo	“Nobleman”
Iñiguez	“Son of Íñigo”
Llamas	“Flames” or “torch”
Molina	“Mill worker”
Navarro	“From Navarre”
Ocampo	“Open field”
Palacios	“Palace” or “large house”
Quijano	“Lance” or “spear bearer”
Robledo	“Oak grove”
Sandoval	“Valley of sand”
Téllez	“Son of Tello”
Urbina	“Of the city”
Velázquez	“Son of Velasco”
Zamora	“From Zamora,” a Spanish city
Andrade	“Brave” or “courageous”
Becerra	“Young cow”
Cornejo	“Dogwood tree”
Dávalos	“From Daval” or “valley place”
Escalante	“From the ladder” or “climber”
Fuentes	“Springs” or “wells”
Galindo	“Little cheerful one”
Holguín	“From Holguín, Cuba”
Lira	“Lyre” or “musician”
Meneses	“From a noble family”
Nieto	“Grandchild”
Ordóñez	“Son of Ordoño”
Ponce	“Noble” or “ready for battle”
Quintana	“Country estate”
Roldán	“Famous land” or “renowned in battle”
Sierra	“Mountain range”
Tovar	“Fortress”
Urbano	“Of the city”
Vega	“Fertile plain”
Zapata	“Shoe” or “cobbler”

Indigenous (Aztec & Mayan) Inspired Mexican Surnames

Surname	Meaning
Acosta	“By the coast”
Cahum	Mayan for “jaguar spirit”
Cen	“Sun” or “light” (Mayan)
Chimal	Nahuatl for “shield”
Citlal	“Star” (Aztec origin)
Coatl	“Serpent” (Aztec deity name)
Colotl	“Scorpion” (Nahuatl)
Coyotl	“Coyote” (clever animal)
Ek	“Black star” (Mayan)
Itza	“Water magician” (Mayan)
Kan	“Snake” (Mayan)
Kin	“Sun” (Mayan)
Kuk	“Sacred feather”
Matlal	“Blue-green” (Aztec)
Mixco	“Cloud serpent”
Nahuatl	“Clear speech”
Nochebuena	“Holy night”
Ocotl	“Pine tree”
Puc	“Warrior”
Tecolotl	“Owl”
Tenoch	“Founder of Tenochtitlan”
Tetzal	“Rock” or “hard”
Tizoc	“Noble leader”
Tlaloc	“Rain god”
Tonal	“Day” or “spirit energy”
Xelhua	“Giant” (Aztec legend)
Xochitl	“Flower”
Yaotl	“Warrior”
Yumil	“Lord” (Mayan)
Zamná	“Thinker” (Mayan sage)
Atl	“Water”
Citali	“Star”
Itotia	“Dance”
Malinal	“Grass”
Meztli	“Moon”
Nahil	“Truth”
Oncan	“Place”
Quetzal	“Sacred bird”
Teotl	“God”
Xocoyotl	“Youngest child”
Yohualli	“Night”
Atlahua	“Water god”
Citlalmina	“Shooting star”
Cuevas	“Caves”
Huicatl	“Song”
Ixchel	“Rainbow goddess”
Matl	“Hand”
Nahui	“Four” or “balance”
Olin	“Movement”
Tepetl	“Mountain”
Tzompan	“Hair”
Xolotl	“Twin” or “dog god”

Colonial and Historical Mexican Surnames

Surname	Meaning
Aguayo	“Place with water”
Balderas	“Valley of strength”
Cabrera	“Goatherd”
De la Vega	“Of the meadow”
Espada	“Sword”
Frías	“Cold”
Garza	“Heron” (bird)
Hinojosa	“Fennel field”
Jáuregui	“Pasture”
Leal	“Loyal”
Montoya	“Mountain valley”
Olmedo	“Elm grove”
Paredes	“Walls”
Real	“Royal”
Saldívar	“Peaceful valley”
Tapiero	“Tile maker”
Valera	“Brave” or “strong”
Ximénez	“Son of Ximeno”
Yturbe	“Between waters”
Zamorano	“From Zamora”
Altamirano	“High place”
Borrego	“Lamb”
Castaño	“Chestnut”
De la Peña	“Of the rock”
Escalera	“Ladder” or “steps”
Godínez	“Son of Godo”
Heredia	“Heir” or “inheritance”
Licea	“Place of light”
Medina	“City”
Núñez	“Son of Nuño”
Orduna	“Hill”
Pizarra	“Slate” or “stone”
Quiñones	“Estate of Quinon”
Ríos	“Rivers”
Santillán	“Saintly”
Tobón	“Of the valley”
Ulloa	“Highland”
Vizcarra	“From the plain”
Zepeda	“Fence”
Villalobos	“Village of wolves”
Montemayor	“Greater mountain”
Castaño	“Brown” or “chestnut”
De Haro	“From Haro”
Peralta	“High rock”
Soria	“From Soria, Spain”
Tobías	“God is good”
Villarreal	“Royal town”
Zaldivar	“Old valley”
Arechiga	“Place of many rocks”
Belasco	“Raven”
Camacho	“Gentle”
Durán	“Enduring”

Modern and Unique Mexican Surnames

Surname	Meaning
Acuña	“Stone”
Barrera	“Barrier” or “wall”
Cienfuegos	“Hundred fires”
Delgado	“Slim”
Encinas	“Oak trees”
Farías	“Iron” or “smith”
Gaviria	“Mountain village”
Hidalgo	“Nobleman”
Leiva	“Smooth stone”
Merino	“Shepherd”
Navarro	“From Navarre”
Ortega	“Nettle field”
Prado	“Meadow”
Quirós	“Lance bearer”
Reyes	“Kings”
Serrano	“From the mountains”
Tena	“Tender”
Valdez	“From the valley”
Villegas	“Village fields”
Zárate	“Old fortress”
Acevedo	“Holly grove”
Bernal	“Strong bear”
Carrillo	“Cheek” or “noble face”
Dimas	“Sunset”
Escoto	“Scottish”
Fonseca	“Dry fountain”
Gaitán	“Song”
Lara	“Famous fortress”
Molinares	“Of the mill”
Nieves	“Snow”
Ontiveros	“Hill of herbs”
Padrón	“Register” or “list keeper”
Ramos	“Branches”
Sosa	“Willow grove”
Treviño	“Little town”
Valerio	“Strong” or “healthy”
Zamudio	“Place of rivers”
Alcaraz	“Cherry field”
Betancourt	“Beautiful residence”
Coronel	“Colonel” or “commander”
Del Río	“Of the river”
Espino	“Thorn”
Flores	“Flowers”
Guzmán	“Good man”
Huerta	“Garden”
Linares	“Flax fields”
Mendoza	“Cold mountain”
Osorio	“Wolf”
Peña	“Rock”
Rocha	“Rocky place”
Solano	“East wind”
Valverde	“Green valley”
Zambrano	“Wild olive tree”