Contents [hide]

Torres History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Torres History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Noble surnames, such as Torres, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. Torres is the plural of "torre" meaning "tower" and is the 11th most common surname in 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 Torres family originally lived in the place named Torres. There are many towns and villages in Spain that are named Torres, but the most famous are in the provinces of Andalucia, Oviedo in the Principality of Asturias, Burgos in Castilla-Leon, Lerida in Catalonia, Zaragoza in Aragon, and Navarra. The place-name is of Latin origin and it emerged during the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.

Early Origins of the Torres family

The surname Torres was first found in Castile, where the name originated in Visigothic times.

Early History of the Torres family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Torres research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1630, 1653 and 1726 are included under the topic Early Torres History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Torres Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Torres, Torre, de Torres, de las Torres, de la Torre, de Torre, Turre, de Turre and many more.

Early Notables of the Torres family

Prominent among members of the family

Juan de Torres, a fifteenth century knight; Alfonso de la Torre and Fernando de la Torre, fifteenth century Spanish poets; sixteenth century adventurer Diego de Torres; Francisco de la Torre, sixteent...

Torres World Ranking

In the United States, the name Torres is the 67^th most popular surname with an estimated 268,596 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Torres is ranked the 398^th most popular surname with an estimated 10,719 people with that name. [2] And in South America, the name Torres is the 19^th popular surname with an estimated 134 people with that name. [3]

Torres migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Torres Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Juan Torres, who immigrated to Chile in 1560
Luisa Torres, settled in Peru in 1562
Diego Torres, settled in Colombia in 1562
Cristóbal Torres, settled in Hispaniola in 1562 with his wife Inés, son Mateo and daughter Catalina
Francisco Torres, settled in Florida in 1563
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Torres Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Antonio Torres, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 [4]
Hernando De Torres, who arrived in America in 1810 [4]
Martin De Torres, who arrived in America in 1810 [4]
Marina Torres, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1812 [4]
Pedro De Torres, who landed in America in 1813 [4]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Torres 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. [5]

Torres Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

David Torres, who landed in Jamaica in 1740-1741 [4]
Reins Torres, who arrived in Jamaica in 1743-1744 [4]
Rema Torres, who landed in Jamaica in 1743 [4]

Contemporary Notables of the name Torres (post 1700) +

Jaime Torres, Chilean founder of Bodegas Torres, a historical wine growing company in 1870
Elena Torres Cuéllar (1893-1970), leading Mexican revolutionary, feminist, progressive educator and writer; she founded the first Montessori school in Mexico
Esteban Edward Torres (1930-2022), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from California 34th District, 1983-99 [6]
Michelle Torres (b. 1967), retired American professional tennis player
Elizabeth "Liz" Torres (b. 1947), American actress, singer, and comedienne
Gina Torres (b. 1969), American television and movie actress
Danielle Torres, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2004 [6]
Carmen L. Torres, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2008 [6]
Braulio Torres, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Puerto Rico, 2004 [6]
Art Torres, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from California, 2004; California Democratic State Chair, 2008 [6]
... (Another 53 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Torres family +

St. Francis Dam

Mr. Luis Torres Sr., Mexican born American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Mrs. Isabella C. Torres, (nee Cerna), Mexican born American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Miss Guadalupe Torres, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Miss Mercedes Torres, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Mr. Jose Luis Torres, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
... (Another 4 entries 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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html