Espinosa History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Portugal
Spain

The name Espinosa was originally a Spanish family that moved to Portugal before the sixteenth century. 1 This surname is of toponymic origin, being derived from the name of the place of residence of the initial bearer. In this instance, the surname is taken directly from the place-name Espinosa which is found in a number of Spanish regions including Galicia and the Vascongadas. Thus, the place-name signifies "one from Espinosa". According to etymologists, the place-name Espinosa is derived from the word "espino" which means "hawthorn." Thus, the place-name/surname Espinosa literally signifies "abundance of hawthorn." By extension, the name is also derived from the Latin word 'spinosus,' meaning thorny. For this reason, a hawthorn tree is shown on the coat of arms.

By example, Espinosa de los Monteros is a municipality in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain and this naming tradition continues to the New World where today we find Espinosa, a municipality in the north of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil and Espinosa, a barrio in the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico.

Early Origins of the Espinosa family

The surname Espinosa was first found in one of the main towns of Espinoza, in what is now Spain. The name was frequently shortened from the Espinosa spelling to Sinosa. An early reference to a specific family of the name Espinosa mentions the name Espinosa de los Monteros. Felix Espinosa de los Monteros, born in Barcelona in the early 18th century, held the rank of Capitan de Infanteria and was a member of the Order of Santiago. In 1762, he was granted the title of Marques de Monte Oliver and Vizconde del Charco del Novillo.

Early History of the Espinosa family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Espinosa research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1484, 1515, 1537, 1543, 1545, 1547, 1562, 1600, 1630, 1632, 1633, 1667, 1677, 1679 and 1755 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, Spinosa, Spinoza, Espinoza, Spineus and others.

Early Notables of the Espinosa family

Prominent members of the family include

Alonso de Espinosa (1543-?), a Spanish priest and historian of the sixteenth century who was the first official historian of the island of Tenerife. Fray Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa (born in Jerez de...

Espinosa Ranking

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

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 4
Gonzalo De Espinosa, who landed in America in 1810 4
Jacinta Espinosa, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1810 4
Juan De Espinosa, who arrived in America in 1811 4
Pedro De Espinosa, who arrived in America in 1811 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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. 5

Espinosa Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Luis De Espinosa, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1834 4
Maria Espinosa, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1838 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Espinosa (post 1700) +

Valerie Espinosa, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Mexico, 2000 6
Paul Espinosa, American Republican politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates 66th District; Elected 2012 6
Gary Espinosa, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Governor of Texas, 1994 6
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.)

Citations +

De Faria, Antonio Machado. Armorial lusitano: genealogia e heráldica. Lisboa, 1961. Print
"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/
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, October 30) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html