Penas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Noble surnames, such as Penas, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Penas, 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. The Penas family originally lived near a cliff or on a rocky patch of land. Ancient records reveal the name Penas is derived from the Spanish word "peña," which means "rock," "crag" or "cliff."

Early Origins of the Penas family

The surname Penas was first found in Castile, in north central Spain.

Early History of the Penas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Penas research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1338 is included under the topic Early Penas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Penas Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pena, Peña, Penas, Peñas, de Pena, de Peña, de la Pena, de la Peña, Peñal, Penal, Peñón, Peñon, Penón, Penon, Peño, Peno, Peñuela and many more.

Early Notables of the Penas family

Prominent among members of the family were seventeenth century Spanish writer Juan Antonio de la Peña; eighteenth century Colombian military officer Vicente Peña; nineteenth century Colombian poet Belisario Peña; nineteenth century Ecuadoran jurist and diplomat Lorenzo R. Peña; nineteenth century Colombian naturalist Camilo Peña; nineteenth century...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Penas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Penas migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Penas Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Diego Penas, who arrived in America in 1812 1
Juan De Penas, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1834 1

Citations +

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)