Show ContentsNava History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The mountainous borders of Spain contain the origins of the prestigious surname Nava.The original bearer of the name Nava, 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 Nava family originally lived in the northern Spanish province of Navarra. The place-name Navarra is derived from the Basque word "nava," or "naba," which means "plain near the mountains."

Early Origins of the Nava family

The surname Nava was first found in Aragon, an important Christian kingdom of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Nava family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nava research. Another 211 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1137, 1148, 1170, 1180, 1229, 1238, 1282 and 1469 are included under the topic Early Nava History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nava Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Navarro, Navaro, Navarra, Navarre, Navarrolas and others.

Early Notables of the Nava family

Notable bearers of the family name Nava

  • were sixteenth century Spanish engineer and officer Pedro Navarro
  • sixteenth century Spanish dramatist and actor Pedro Navarro
  • eighteenth century Spanish naval officer Juan José Navarro
  • Felipe Navarre, eighteenth century Spanish painter
  • nineteenth century Colombian writer and politician Juan N. Navarro
  • nineteenth century Spanish dramatist Eduardo Navarro Gonzalo
  • nineteenth century Mexican poet Manuel de Navarrete
  • nineteenth century Spanish novelist Ramón de Navarrete y Fernández

Nava Ranking

In the United States, the name Nava is the 1,803rd most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. [1]


United States Nava migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Nava Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Diego Dc Nava, who landed in America in 1817 [2]
  • Juan De Nava, who landed in America in 1827 [2]
  • Jeronimo De Nava, who arrived in New Spain in 1863 [2]
  • Alessandro Nava, aged 27, who settled in America, in 1892
  • Abramo Nava, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States, in 1893
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Nava Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Angela Maria Nava, aged 30, who landed in America, in 1903
  • Alvarez Nava, aged 43, who immigrated to the United States from Spain, in 1912

Contemporary Notables of the name Nava (post 1700) +

  • Julian Nava (1927-2022), American educator and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1980 to 1981
  • Daniel James Nava (b. 1983), American Major League Baseball outfielder with the Boston Red Sox
  • Gregory Nava (b. 1949), American film director, producer and screenplay writer from San Diego
  • Mark Nava, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Pomona, California, 2008 [3]
  • Bettina Nava, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Arizona, 2008 [3]
  • Pedro da Silva Nava (b. 1903), Brazilian writer
  • Jake Nava, English music video and film director from North London
  • Julio Cesar Nava Garcia (b. 1989), Mexican professional footballer
  • Stefano Nava (b. 1969), former Italian defender
  • Raúl Nava López (b. 1990), Mexican footballer


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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