Top 100 Peruvian Last Names
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Peruvian names often follow the Spanish naming pattern.
The official languages spoken in Peru are Aymara and Spanish. Therefore the names are commonly influenced by Spanish and Latin origin.
The history of Peruvian surnames shows that often they are named after the father's paternal family or mother's paternal family name. Also, most names have been derived from Spanish origin. Peru is situated in South America, where the culture is diverse and ethnic.
The surnames are considered a crucial part of the family name for representation in society. Many of the Peru names are religious or saint's names. Most surnames are connected to their ancestral roots.
Read on for some Peruvian last names we think you'll like, and for more last names, take a look at Brazilian Last Names and Mexican Last Names.
Popular Last Names In Peru
Peru has a beautiful mix of Hispanic and native traditions. The people of Peru have traditional family values while giving the child a surname. Here is the list of some of the most popular surname in Peru.
1. Aguilar (Spanish origin) meaning "place of eagles." Kluiverth Aguilar is a Peruvian footballer.
2. Aguirre (Basque origin) meaning "prominent."
3. Alarcon (Spanish origin)meaning "the fortress."
4. Cabrera (Spanish origin)meaning "goatherd."
5. Cáceres (Spanish origin) derived from the city in Western Spain. Andrés Avelino Cáceres is a former President of Peru.
6. Calderon (Latin origin) meaning "occupation of a tinker."
7. Campos (Spanish and Portuguese origin) meaning "dweller in the fields". This last name is associated with Peru based football player, Angelo Campos.
8. Cardenas (Spanish origin)meaning "from the land of thorns."
9. De La Cruz (Spanish origin)meaning "of the cross." Paulo César De La Cruz Télles is a Peruvian football player.
10. Diaz (Spanish origin) meaning "days".
11. Espinoza (Spanish origin) meaning "from the thorny place".
12. Fernandez (Spanish origin) meaning "son of Fernando" It is one of the most common surnames used in Peru. Raúl Fernández is a famous footballer.
13. Flores (Spanish origin)meaning "a flower."
14. Garcia (Basque origin) meaning "the son of Garcia."
15. Gomez (Mexican origin), and is derived from the name Gomo.
16. Gonzales (Spanish origin), meaning "castle son of Gonzalo."
17. Guerra (Portuguese origin)meaning "war."
18. Hernandez (Spanish origin)meaning "Hernando's son." It became one of the most common last names around the 15th century.
19. Herrera (Spanish origin) meaning "iron mine; ironworks."
20. Leon (Spanish origin)meaning "lion" in Latin. It is a popular name from Greek mythology from the fifth century.
21. Lopez (Spanish origin)meaning "son of Lope; the wolf." Certainly one of the most popular last names in Latin America and Peru.
22. Mamani (Pre-Hispanic origin) meaning "falcon".This last name is the name of a tree found in the Hawaiian mountain.
23. Martinez (Spanish origin)andis derived from the personal name Martin whose root is Mars, which is the name of the Roman God of fertility and war.
24. Medina (Spanish origin)meaning "city".
25. Mejia (Spanish origin) meaning "cheek."
26. Mendoza (Spanish origin) meaning "freezing mountain". Mendoza is a town in Peru.
27. Navarro (Spanish origin)meaning "native of Navarra".
28. Nunez (Spanish origin)meaning "the son of Nuno". Pierina Núñez is a famous Peruvian football player.
29. Ortiz (Spanish origin)meaning " the son of the fortunate". This last name is made famous by Peruvian journalist and writer Carlos Ortiz.
30. Pacheo (Portuguese and Spanish origin) meaning "the noble one."
31.Palacios (Spanish origin)meaning "royal residence; palace".
33. Quiroz (Latin origin) meaning "humble".
34. Quispe (Quechua origin)meaning "brilliant" and "crystal." This last name is associated with Peruvian painter Diego Quispe. This is the most common surname in Peru.
Common Peruvian Last Names
Some of the most common types of family names in Peru are often named after their ancestors, which holds sentimental value for the parents. Given below are some of the most common last names.
35. Alvarado (Spanish origin.), meaning "whitened place." Juan Velasco Alvarado was a famous Peruvian general.
36. Alvarez (Spanish origin) meaning "son of Alvaro". Nicolás Álvarez is a Peruvian tennis player.
37. Amaro (Portuguese origin) meaning "bitter". Amaro is a place in Peru.
38. Arias (Spanish origin) meaning "farmer; skill."
39. Ayala (Basque origin) meaning "female deer; hillside".
40. Bautista (Spanish origin) meaning "baptist".It is the Spanish form of Baptist and is most prevalent in Mexico. San Juan Bautista is a district in Peru.
41. Bravo (Latin origin)meaning "a good, honest and courageous man."
42. Carrasco (Latin origin) meaning "holm oak."
43. Castillo (Spanish origin)meaning "dweller in the castle."
44.Castro (Latin origin) meaning "a castle." This last name is made famous by film director Marco Castro from Peru.
45. Chalco (Spanish origin) meaning "place".
46. Chavez (Portuguese origin) meaning "keys". Jorge Chávez is a Peruvian aviator.
47. Dávila (Portuguese origin) is a habitational name. Cristian Dávila is a Peruvian footballer.
48. Delgado (Spanish and Portuguese origin) meaning "slender; dainty". Erick Delgado is a Peruvian footballer.
49. Guerrero (Spanish origin)meaning "one who is engaged in combat, a warrior." Paolo Guerrero is a famous Peruvian footballer.
50. Guevara (Basque origin) meaning "a place overgrown with ferns." Che Guevara is the name of a revolutionary who traveled via Peru.
51. Gutierrez (Spanish origin) meaning "Guitierre's son". Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez is known by this surname.
52. Guzman (Spanish origin)meaning "good man". Peruvian founder of the group 'Shining Path', Abimael Guzman, is known by this last name.
53. Huaman (pre-Hispanic Peru) meaning "hawk".
54. Huamani (Quechan origin) meaning "deity that protects humans, livestock and water."
55. Jara (Spanish origin) meaning "rockrose or cistus" and is popular in various places in southern Spain.
56. Jimenez (Iberian origin) meaning "son".
57. Juarez (Spanish origin) meaning "occupational, for a swineherd." Juarez or Huarez is a place in Peru.
58. Lozano (Spanish origin) meaning "splendid and good looking."
59. Meza (Old Spanish origin)meaning "plateau."
60. Miranda (Latin origin) meaning "someone who is worthy of admiration."
61. Morales (Spanish origin)meaning "by the Mulberry tree."
62. Moreno (Portuguese origin) meaning "dark-haired". This surname is associated with Peruvian politician Alberto Moreno.
63. Munoz (Spanish origin) meaning"son of Nuno".Hugo Muñoz is a Peruvian high jumper.
64. Paredes (Portuguese origin) meaning "dweller near the wall." Cecilia Paredes is the name of a famous artist from Peru.
65. Pena (Spanish origin) meaning "rock, crag or cliff."
66. Perez (Spanish origin) meaning "son of Pero or Pedro."
67. Ramirez (Spanish origin) meaning "Ramiro's son." Peru based volleyball player Ana Ramirez has this last name.
South American Surnames
South America is a subcontinent that consists of Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela and Bolivia, among many others. Most of the people with these surnames can be found all over the southern continent, which shows its diversity. Given below is a list of some South American last names common in Peru and which are the names of famous Peruvians.
68. Condori (Spanish origin) name meaning "walking condor".
69. Contreras (Hispanic origin) meaning "from the surrounding area."Arlette Contreras is a famous Peruvian lawyer and a women's rights activist.
70. Cordova (Spanish origin) meaning "the new place." Peruvian football player Jair Cordova has made this last name famous.
71. Cruz (Iberian origin) meaning "cross."Andrés de Santa Cruz was a Peruvian president.
72. Cueva (Spanish origin) meaning "a cave."
73. Pizarro (Spanish origin) meaning "slate". Claudio Pizarro is a retired football player.
74. Ramos (Spanish origin) meaning "bouquets or branches." Christian Ramos is a famous Peruvian footballer.
75. Rios (Portuguese origin) meaning "river."
76. Rivera (Spanish origin) meaning "riverbank."
77. Rodriguez (Spanish origin) meaning "Rodrigo's son" It is considered to one of the common surnames in Peru. Alberto Rodríguez is a famous Peruvian football player.
78. Rojas (Spanish origin) meaning "red." A unique surname given to many Peruvians.
79. Romero (Spanish origin) meaning "rosemary, a plant which is sweet and evergreen." A popular first name too.
80. Ruiz (Spanish origin)meaning "powerful." A good family name.
81. Saavedra (Portuguese origin) meaning "old hall". Jaime Saavedra is a Peruvian economist. It can be pronounced as sa‧a‧ved‧ra.
82. Salas (Spanish origin) meaning "rooms or halls."
83. Salazar (Basque origin) meaning "dweller in; palace". Santiago Salazar is a retired football defender who is now a football manager as well.
84. Sanchez (Portuguese origin) meaning "son of Sancho". Joel Sánchez is a famous Peruvian footballer. A popular family name.
85. Sandoval (Spanish origin)meaning "wood; newly cleared land."
86. Santos (Spanish origin) meaning "saints; holy." A very popular name.
87. Silva (Spanish origin) meaning "woods or someone who came from Silva." Beto da Silva is a Peruvian footballer and Silva is a famous family name.
88. Soto (Spanish origin) meaning "forest grove."
89. Suarez (Spanish origin)meaning "son of Suero."
90. Tello (Spanish origin) meaning "land or earth."
91. Torres (Portuguese origin) meaning "towers". A famous family name.
92. Vargas (Spanish origin) meaning "someone who came from the steep hill." This last name is made famous by Peruvian football player Juan Vargas.
93. Vasquez (Portuguese origin) meaning "son of Vasco".
94. Vega (Spanish origin)meaning "from the meadow."
95. Velasquez (Spanish origin) meaning "son of Velasco". Peruvian swimmer Claudia Velasquez is known by this last name. This is a very famous name.
96. Vera (Spanish origin)meaning "true".
97.Vilca (Basque origin). This last name is associated with famous Peru born sprinter Maria Vilca.
98. Vilchez (Spanish origin), a habitational name, Peruvian football player Walter Vilchez is known by this last name.
99. Villanueva (Spanish origin)meaning "a new estate." A very popular name.
100. Zapata (Spanish origin) meaning "half boot". This name is linked with Peruvian world chess champion Karen Zapata.
Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you like our suggestions for Peruvian Last Names then why not take a look at Native American Names, or for something different take a look at Hipster Girls Names.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English
Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English
With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature.
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