Show ContentsAtencio History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The noble Spanish surname Atencio is a shortened Castellianized version of the ancient and noble Italian name "Atanacio," a patronymic name which is very common throughout Italy. The surname stems from the Greek, "Athanasios," and is derived from the adjective "athanatos," which means "immortal."

Early Origins of the Atencio family

The surname Atencio was first found in the northern region of Castille, a powerful Christian kingdom of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Atencio family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Atencio research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1875 is included under the topic Early Atencio History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Atencio Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Atencia, Atenacio and others.

Early Notables of the Atencio family

Prominent among bearers of the Atencio family name at this time was

  • Don Francisco Atencio Villaviciencio, who enlisted in the Volunteer Regiment of the Royal Spanish Army in 1875 and left a brilliant record in the Archivo

Atencio Ranking

In the United States, the name Atencio is the 7,110th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]

Migration of the Atencio family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Juan De Atencia who arrived in Venezuela in 1534; Adriano De Atencia who came to New Granada in 1561; Juana De Antencia who emigrated to Peru in 1593.


Contemporary Notables of the name Atencio (post 1700) +

  • Mariana Atencio (b. 1984), Venezuela-born, American award-winning journalist and news reporter working for MSNBC and NBC News, awarded a Peabody Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and Gracie Award
  • Peter Atencio (b. 1983), American television and film director, best known for directing the sketch comedy series Key & Peele
  • Francis Xavier Atencio (1919-2017), American animator and Imagineer for The Walt Disney Company, named a Disney Legend in 1996
  • Margaret Atencio, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1996, 2000, 2004 [2]
  • Abraham Atencio Castillo (b. 1977), Panamanian baseball pitcher who has played for the Panamanian National Baseball Team


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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