Ballesteros History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

The distinguished surname Ballesteros is of Spanish descent, and is believed to be of occupational origin as it is derived from the occupation or trade of the original bearer of the name. The surname derives from the Spanish word "ballestero," or "crossbowman," from the term "ballesta," meaning "crossbow." The surname Ballesteros thus means "son or descendant of the crossbowman."

Early Origins of the Ballesteros family

The surname Ballesteros was first found in the northeastern region of the Iberian peninsula. The earliest references to the Spanish surname Ballesteros date back to the thirteenth century, when one Ramon Ballester was lord of the castle of Alaro in 1285, at the time of the conquest of Mallorca by King Alfonso of Aragon.

Early History of the Ballesteros family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ballesteros research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1333, 1370, 1387 and 1405 are included under the topic Early Ballesteros History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ballesteros Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ballestero, Ballesteros, Ballesta, Ballesté and many more.

Early Notables of the Ballesteros family

Prominent among bearers of the family name in this era was Antonio Ballester (died 1387), Archbishop of Athens from 27 March 1370, when appointed by Pope Urban VI, until his death; Arnaldo Ballester, who was counselor to the...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ballesteros Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ballesteros Ranking

In the United States, the name Ballesteros is the 5,757^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Ballesteros migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ballesteros Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Leonor De Ballesteros, who arrived in Espanola in 1811 2
Juan Or Ballesteros, who arrived in America in 1812 2
Juan De Ballesteros, who landed in America in 1817 2
Francisco Ballesteros, who landed in America in 1834 2
Alonso Ballesteros, who arrived in New Spain in 1836 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ballesteros 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. 3

Ballesteros Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Gonzalo De Ballesteros, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1834 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Ballesteros (post 1700) +

Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros (1957-2011), Spanish golfer, winner of the Masters (1980 and 1983) and the Open Championship (1979, 1984, and 1988), inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame (1999)
Victoria Ballesteros, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1996 4
Jorge Ballesteros (1983-2023), Spanish fifteen-time gold medalist sport shooter, found shot dead in his car, he was 39
Javier "Javi" Ballesteros (b. 1986), Spanish footballer
Francisco Ballesteros (1770-1832), Spanish General during the Peninsular War
Ángel Ballesteros (b. 1940), Spanish poet and historian
Sergio Martínez Ballesteros (b. 1975), Spanish footballer
Chasty Ballesteros, Canadian actress
Roberto Alcântara Ballesteros (b. 1977), Brazilian footballer
Ernesto "Estong" Ballesteros (b. 1973), former Filipino professional basketball player
... (Another 1 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/
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 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html