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History of Venezuelan surnamesHistory of Venezuelan surnames
The history of Venezuelan surnames is rich and complex, reflecting the country's numerous cultural influences. Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and the beginning of the Colony, hereditary surnames were not used in the territory, but indigenous communities used names with ties to nature, animals, and the elements. After the Captainship of New Andalusia was established, Spanish naming conventions were brought along with the first settlers from the Canary Islands, which made up most of the first Spanish settlers in the country during colonial times,[1] where surnames were introduced from mainland Spain in the early 1500s.[2] The regional surname density varies across the country, with Basque surnames more common in the Andes, Arab surnames in cities and especially the Eastern states, and Italian and Portuguese surnames in the coastal regions.
Venezuelan naming customsVenezuelan naming customs
Venezuelan surnames follow the same pattern of Spain, just as in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, with a person receiving a personal name (or names), followed by their father's first surname, and finally their mother's first surname. These two surnames are a legal and conventional requirement in formal and legal settings. When a woman marries, she retains her birth name, which her children also inherit. One common characteristic of Venezuelan surnames is the usage of de ("of") by married women; for example, Alicia Pietri de Caldera, where Pietri is her maiden name and Caldera is her married name.
Types of Venezuelan surnamesTypes of Venezuelan surnames
Venezuelan surnames of patronymic originVenezuelan surnames of patronymic origin
These are some of the most common Venezuelan surnames derived from first names, and are surnames are widespread across all Latin America due to their Castilian origin and colonial legacy:
Venezuelan surnames of toponymic originVenezuelan surnames of toponymic origin
These surnames come from Spanish geographic names or locations:
- Rivas, Pineda, Colina, Chirinos, Campos, Sierra, Del Valle – all nature or terrain-based
- Sanabria – originally from a town in Spain
- Villalobos, Villarreal – “wolf village,” “royal village”
Venezuelan surnames of occupational originVenezuelan surnames of occupational origin
Venezuelan surnames of descriptive originVenezuelan surnames of descriptive origin
Venezuelan surnames of indigenous originVenezuelan surnames of indigenous origin
During colonization, Venezuelan indigenous people frequently adopted Spanish surnames, however others taken surnames based on indigenous clan names, particularly in Amazonas, Zulia, and the Andes. True indigenous surnames are rare, but culturally significant, especially in the states that concentrate most indigenous communities:
- Ipuana - name of a Wayuu clan, associated with the falcon and meaning "the ones who live on top of the rocks"
- Mapauri - of Yek'wana origin, associated with the High Orinoco river
- Pushaina - of Wayuu origin, associated with the wild boar, meaning "those of hot blood"
- Epinayú - name of a Wayuu clan, meaning "the ones who hit hard," associated with the donkey
- Uriana - name of a Wayuu clan, meaning "those with stealthy eyes," associated with the tiger
- Catarí - of Pemón origin, associated with wisdom
- Guaicarán - of Cumanagoto origin
- Guaimaral - of Warao origin, associated with water
- Erapshe - of Yukpa origin
- Camacaro - toponymic surname of Kariña origin
Venezuelan surnames of Afro-American originVenezuelan surnames of Afro-American origin
Afro-Venezuelan populations descended from enslaved people were frequently given surnames by colonial officials, Catholic saints, and plantation owners. Over time, many communities regained surnames and formed strong cultural identities around names such as:
Venezuelan surnames of aristocratic originVenezuelan surnames of aristocratic origin
Though Venezuela had no formal nobility after independence, several surnames are associated with elite colonial families, independence heroes, or prominent dynasties associated with economic and political power:
Venezuelan surnames of foreign originVenezuelan surnames of foreign origin
Venezuela received several waves of immigration, especially in the 20th century. These surnames were often preserved or Hispanicized.
- Italian (large post-WWII immigration)
- Corsican
- Portuguese
- Basque
- Arab (mainly Syrian and Lebanese) These surnames are common in retail, food, and business sectors. Venezuela holds the largest Druze diaspora outside of the Levant, with around 60,000 Venezuelans being of Druze origin,[3] mostly from the region near Sweida in Syrya.
- Jewish (Sephardic & Ashkenazi)
Most common Venezuelan surnamesMost common Venezuelan surnames
Celebrities with Venezuelan surnamesCelebrities with Venezuelan surnames
- Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza, commonly known as Francisco de Miranda - Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolution and the Spanish American wars of independence. He is regarded as a precursor of South America's liberation from the Spanish Empire.
- José Miguel Cabrera Torres, nicknamed Miggy Cabrera - Venezuelan former professional baseball baseman and designated hitter who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers. He was a two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, a four-time AL batting champion, and a 12-time MLB All-Star. He claimed the 17th MLB Triple Crown in 2012, the first to do so in 45 seasons. Cabrera is one of three players in MLB history to have a career batting average above .300, 500 home runs, and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Cabrera is regarded as one of the greatest hitters of all time.
- Irene Lailin Saéz Conde - Venezuelan politician and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1981. She has been a model, was the mayor of Chacao (a municipality of Caracas), governor of the state of Nueva Esparta and a presidential candidate in 1998.
- Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo - Venezuelan-American actress, TV hostess, singer and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1996, she previously crowned Miss Venezuela 1995. She was the fourth woman from Venezuela to be named Miss Universe.
- Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López - Venezuelan humanist, diplomat, poet, jurist, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture. He was the principal drafter of the Chilean Civil Code, one of the most innovative and influential American legal works of its time. Under his inspiration and with his decisive support, the University of Chile was founded in 1842, an institution of which he served as its first rector for more than two decades. Among his major literary works is the Grammar of the Castilian Language Destined for the Use of Americans (1847), still an essential reference work for grammatical studies today in the Spanish language.
- Patricia Carola Velázquez Semprún - Venezuelan actress, supermodel, and philanthropist of Spanish-Wayuu origin who became the first Latina supermodel to transition into mainstream media. As an actress, she is best known for her portrayal of Anck-su-namun in the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns.
- María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García, better known as Teresa Carreño - Venezuelan pianist, composer, soprano, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the Piano," composing 75 works for solo piano, voice and piano, choir and orchestra, and instrumental ensemble.
- Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano, better known as Édgar Ramírez - Venezuelan actor, Venezuelan actor whose portrayal of Carlos the Jackal in the 2010 biopic television miniseries Carlos won him the César Award for Most Promising Actor, and nominations for a Golden Globe and Emmy Award for Best Actor. Ramírez also received several accolades for his portrayal of Gianni Versace in the 2018 miniseries The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Explore more about Venezuelan surnamesExplore more about Venezuelan surnames
- Venezuela - Collection Catalog at MyHeritage
See alsoSee also
References
- ↑ Manuel Hernández González (January 1, 2005). La Emigración Canaria a América. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria. p. 24. ISBN 978-84-7926-488-8.
- ↑ Canary Islanders Society of Louisiana
- ↑ Sending relief--and a message of inclusion and love—to our Druze sisters and brothers. The JUF magazine
- ↑ Most Common Last Names In Venezuela. Forebears.io