Show ContentsEspinosa History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Espinosa, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The Espinosa family name is derived from one of several places named Espinosa, found in a number of Spanish regions including Galicia and Vascongadas. The place-name Espinosa is derived from the word "espino," which means "hawthorn" and thus, the first bearer of this surname likely lived near a place where this tree grew in abundance.

Early Origins of the Espinosa family

The surname Espinosa was first found in Castile, an important Christian kingdom of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Espinosa family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Espinosa research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1243, 1578, 1590, 1595, 1600, 1629, 1641, 1650, 1667 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Espinosa History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Espinosa Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Espinosa, Espinoso, Espinoza, Espinozo, Espina and many more.

Early Notables of the Espinosa family

Prominent among members of the family

  • Pedro de Espinosa (1578-1650) the Spanish poet
  • Juan Bautista de Espinosa (1590-1641), a Spanish painter
  • Jeronimo Jacinto de Espinosa (1600-1667), a Spanish painter
  • Juan de Espinosa Medrano (ca. 1629-1688), a Peruvian cleric and author who wrote both in Spanish and in Quichua
  • sixteenth century Dominican writer and historian Alonso de Espinosa
  • Gabriel de Espinosa, a Spanish impostor who impersonated King Sebastian of Portugal from 1590-1595

Espinosa Ranking

In the United States, the name Espinosa is the 1,291st most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Espinosa is ranked the 3,108th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2


United States Espinosa migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Espinosa Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Antón de Espinosa, who sailed to America in 1514
  • Diego de Espinosa, who sailed to Venezuela in 1534
  • Juan de Espinosa went to Cartagena in 1534
  • Luis de Espinosa traveled to Hispaniola in 1534
  • Gaspar de Espinosa (died 1537), an administrator in Hispaniola and in Peru
Espinosa Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Juan Espinosa, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 3
  • Gonzalo De Espinosa, who landed in America in 1810 3
  • Jacinta Espinosa, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1810 3
  • Juan De Espinosa, who arrived in America in 1811 3
  • Pedro De Espinosa, who arrived in America in 1811 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Espinosa 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
Espinosa Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • Luis De Espinosa, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1834 3
  • Maria Espinosa, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1838 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Espinosa (post 1700) +

  • Valerie Espinosa, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Mexico, 2000 5
  • Paul Espinosa, American Republican politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates 66th District; Elected 2012 5
  • Gary Espinosa, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Governor of Texas, 1994 5
  • Eden Erica Espinosa (b. 1978), American singer and stage actress
  • Daniel Richard "Danny" Espinosa (b. 1987), American Major League Baseball second baseman for the Washington Nationals
  • Chris Espinosa, American senior employee of Apple, officially employee number 8 who joined the company at the age of fourteen
  • Abel Ruben "Al" Espinosa (1891-1957), American professional golfer, nine time PGA Tour winner in the 1920s and 1930s
  • Paul Espinosa, American television producer and writer
  • Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa, prominent American educator
  • Maricet Espinosa (1990-2024), full name Maricet Espinosa González, was a Cuban judoka, she competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics
  • ... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 30) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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