Serrano History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Noble surnames, such as Serrano, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Serrano, 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 Serrano family originally lived near a ridge or chain of hills. The name was originally derived from the Old French word Serre, but it was recorded in medieval documents in the Latin form Serra, which means ridge.

Early Origins of the Serrano family

The surname Serrano was first found in Castile, the medieval Spanish kingdom whose language and culture were to spread to many countries of the world.

Early History of the Serrano family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Serrano research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1274, 1420 and 1749 are included under the topic Early Serrano History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Serrano Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Serrano, Serrana, Serra and others.

Early Notables of the Serrano family

Notable bearers of the family name Serrano

Juan de Serrano, prior of Guadalupe in the 1420s
Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, nineteenth century Spanish military and political figure
nineteenth century Colombian jurist and general Fernando Serrano

Serrano Ranking

In the United States, the name Serrano is the 646^th most popular surname with an estimated 44,766 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Serrano is ranked the 766^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,483 people with that name. 2

Serrano migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Serrano Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Cristóbal Serrano, who settled in the Americas in 1511
Alonso Serrano, settled in Peru in 1534
Iñigo Serrano, moved to Peru in 1534
Martín Serrano, moved to Cartagena in 1535
Pedro Serrano, moved to New Spain in 1535
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Serrano Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alejo Serrano, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 3
Cristobal Serrano, who landed in America in 1811 3
Juan Serrano, who landed in America in 1811 3
Martin Serrano, who landed in America in 1814 3
Bartolome Serrano, who landed in America in 1815 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Serrano migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Serrano Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Gaicia Serrano, who arrived in Cuba in 1838 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Serrano (post 1700) +

Lupe Serrano (1931-2023), American prima ballerina with American Ballet Theater
José Marco Serrano, American politician, Member of the New York Senate
José Enrique Serrano (b. 1943), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (2013-)
Nina Serrano (b. 1934), award-winning American poet, writer, storyteller, and independent media producer
Nestor Serrano (b. 1955), American stage, film, and television actor
Andres Serrano (b. 1950), American photographer and artist
Aurelio Campa Serrano (1933-2020), Spanish professional footballer who played as a defender
Carlos Seco Serrano (1923-2020), Spanish historian who specialised in the contemporary era from Toledo; he died from COVID-19
Don Francisco Serrano Domínguez Cuenca y Pérez de Vargas (1810-1885), 1st Duke of la Torre Grandee of Spain, Count of San Antonio, a Spanish marshal and statesman. He was Prime Minister of Spain and regent in 1868-1869
José Serrano (b. 1957), Spanish modern pentathlete at the 1980 Summer Olympics
... (Another 11 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/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies