Alcantara History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

The Alcantara surname is derived from the place name Alcantara on the Tagus river in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. Alcantara is derived from the Arabic word "cantara" meaning "bridge" and the definite article "al." The bridge in question was built about the year 105 by the Romans, and the village was named for the bridge by the Moors. The bridge of Alcantara is still standing today, having been restored in the late 19th century.

Early Origins of the Alcantara family

The surname Alcantara was first found in Castile. According to scholars, the surname descends from a Castilian knight who served King Fernando II of Leon, in the first Reconquest of the village of Alcantara, in 1166. In rewarding the knight, the King also had him take the surname Alcantara and to bear the arms of this village. The village was re-taken by the Moors, and then recovered by Alonso of Leon in 1214, who then established the Order of Alcantara, a religious and military order for defense against the Moors.

Early History of the Alcantara family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alcantara research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1499, 1562, 1669 and 1698 are included under the topic Early Alcantara History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alcantara Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Alcantara, Al Cantara, Alcántara and others.

Early Notables of the Alcantara family

Prominent among bearers of the Alcantara family name at this time was

San Pedro De Alcántara or Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562), Spanish priest, who founded an austere form of Franciscan life and was canonized 1669

Alcantara Ranking

In the United States, the name Alcantara is the 6,456^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Alcantara migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Alcantara Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Diego De Alcantara, who landed in America in 1816 2
Juan Fcci Alcantara, aged 22, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1840 2

Alcantara Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Jose Gonzalez Alcantara, aged 28, who immigrated to America from Seville, in 1906
John Alcantara, aged 49, who settled in America from Gibraltar, Gibraltar, in 1910
Ana Alcantara, aged 48, who settled in America from Gibraltar, Gibraltar, in 1910
Dolores Alcantara, aged 38, who landed in America from Gibraltar, Gibraltar, in 1910
John E. Alcantara, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from Havana, Cuba, in 1918
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Alcantara (post 1700) +

Francisco de Alcantara, Spanish sculptor
Dr. Adriana Alcantara, American Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin
Daniel Bautista Alcántara (b. 1972), Dominican Major League Baseball player
Israel Alcantara (b. 1971), Dominican Major League Baseball player
Francisco de Paula Linares Alcántara (1825-1878), Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela (1877-1878)
Francisco de Paula Alcantara (1785-1848), Venezuelan General who took part in the War of Independence

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)