Medina History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Noble surnames, such as Medina, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Medina, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. Many Spanish local names reflect Arabic words or place-names because Spain was conquered by the Muslim Moors from the 8th to 12th centuries. The Medina family originally lived in the town named Medina. Medina was a common place-name in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation because it was the Arabic word for town.

Early Origins of the Medina family

The surname Medina was first found in Castile, predominant among the Christian kingdoms of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Medina family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Medina research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1352, 1659, 1688 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Medina History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Medina Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Medina, Medinilla and others.

Early Notables of the Medina family

Prominent among members of the family

were fifteenth century Spanish cosmographer Pedro de Medina of Seville
fifteenth century lyric poet Martínez de Medina
sixteenth century Mexican writer Baltasar de Medina
sixteenth century Spanish writer Bartolomé Medina

Medina World Ranking

In the United States, the name Medina is the 249^th most popular surname with an estimated 104,454 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Medina is ranked the 2,500^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Medina is the 38^th popular surname with an estimated 96 people with that name. 3

Medina migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Medina Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Francisco de Medina, who voyaged to Mexico with Cortés, and became governor of Chiapas in 1523
Bartolomé Medina, a mineralogist from Seville who traveled to Mexico in 1554
Juan de Medina, who landed in Florida in 1563
Ana de Medina, arived to New Spain in 1563 with her children Gabriel, Francisca, María, Catalina and Ana
Alejo de Medina, settled in Peru in 1565
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Medina Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Medina, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
Cristobal De Medina, who arrived in America in 1810 4
Francisco De Medina, who landed in America in 1811 4
Gonzalo De Medina, who landed in America in 1812 4
Juan De Medina, who landed in America in 1812 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Medina (post 1700) +

Luis Main Medina (b. 1963), American retired Major League Baseball first baseman
José Medina (b. 1970), Venezuelan bronze medalist weightlifter at the 1991 Pan American Games
Debra Medina (b. 1962), American politician, 2010 Texas gubernatorial candidate
Ann Medina, American-born, Canadian television journalist and documentary producer
Jose Medina, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1996, 2008 5
James R. Medina, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Wisconsin 5th District, 1978 5
Hector Medina, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2012 5
Harold Raymond Medina (1888-1990), American politician, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, 1947-51; Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1951-58 5
Eliseo V. Medina, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1996, 2000, 2004 5
David M. Medina, American Republican politician, Justice of Texas State Supreme Court; Elected 2006; Defeated in primary, 2012 5
... (Another 20 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html