Contents [hide]

Fernandez History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Fernandez History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Portugal
Spain

The Fernandez surname is a patronymic form, created from the personal name Fernando. 1 This is one of the most common surnames in Portugal. Fernandes is the 243rd most common surname in the world.

The name Fernandez demonstrates the influence that Spanish often had on the Portuguese culture and surnames as it is composed of the Spanish words "faro" (journey, expedition) and "nano" (daring and brave). Combined, these two words may have been used a nickname surname; that is, as a surname that somehow describe a characteristic of its original bearer. Some think that this name may have been historically used by those engaged against the Moors.

Early Origins of the Fernandez family

The surname Fernandez was first found in Iberian peninsula. The name Fernandez and its many variants were one of the most popular surnames in Medieval Portugal and Spain, and remains among the most common on the Iberian Peninsula today. The earliest known Portuguese record of the name notes that Diogo Fernandes Correia held the office of Administrator of Flanders for King John II.

Early History of the Fernandez family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fernandez research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1445, 1446, 1453, 1455, 1456, 1460, 1475, 1488, 1495, 1498, 1501, 1511, 1542, 1563, 1569, 1576, 1580, 1595, 1596, 1605, 1606, 1614, 1636, 1642, 1654 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Fernandez History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fernandez Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Fernant, Farrant, Hernando, Hernan, Hernanz, Fernando, Fernan, Fernao, Ferrao, Hernandez, Hernaez, Hernaiz, Fernandez, Ferrandez, Ferrandiz, Fernandes and many more.

Early Notables of the Fernandez family

Prominent members of the family include António Fernandes, a Portuguese explorers of the early 15th century. He was raised in the household of Prince Henry "the Navigator" of Portugal (1394-1460), and lead expeditions to Africa. João Fernandes was another 15th century Portuguese explorer, of West Africa, where he was a pioneer of the European slave and gold trade, and...
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fernandez Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fernandez World Ranking

In the United States, the name Fernandez is the 223^rd most popular surname with an estimated 116,889 people with that name. 2 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Fernandez is ranked the 891^st most popular surname. 3 And in France, the name Fernandez is the 81^st popular surname with an estimated 32,418 people with that name. 4 Australia ranks Fernandez as 973^rd with 4,071 people. 5 South America ranks Fernandez as 1^st with 568 people. 6

Fernandez migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fernandez Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Francisco Fernández de Córdoba explored Central America and died in Honduras in 1525
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo participated in the exploration of America from 1514 to his death in 1537
Diego Fernández de Palencia settled in Peru and wrote the first history of that country in 1556
Jorge Fernández, who immigrated to Peru in 1560
Juan Fernández, who immigrated to Cartagena in 1562
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fernandez Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Tomas Fernandez, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 7
Santiago Fernandez, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
Jose Fernandez, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
Juan Vicente Fernandez, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
Gregorio Fernandez, who landed in Espanola in 1811 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fernandez Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Miss Germaine Fernandez, aged 24, German settler who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "La Gascogne", heading to Chicago 8

Fernandez migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fernandez Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Fernandez, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9

Fernandez 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. 10

Fernandez Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Abigail Fernandez, who landed in Jamaica in 1744 7

Fernandez Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Catalina Fernandez, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1836 7
Sebastian Fernandez, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1836 7
Alonso Fernandez, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1877 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Fernandez (post 1700) +

José D. Fernández (1992-2016), Cuban-born, American Major League Baseball pitcher
Chico Fernández (1932-2016), born Humberto Fernández Pérez, Cuban-born, American Major League Baseball shortstop who played from 1956 to 1963
Abel Gonzalez Fernandez (1930-2016), American actor, best known for his role as Federal Agent William "Bill" Youngfellow on the 1959-1963 ABC Television series The Untouchables
Mervyn Fernández (b. 1959), American professional (NFL and CFL) football player
Mary Jo Fernández (b. 1971), American professional tennis player of Spanish and Cuban descent
Charles Sidney "Sid" Fernandez (b. 1962), American (Hawaiian, of Portuguese descent), Major League Baseball pitcher
Brian Fernandez, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arizona, 1996
Antonio Manuel Fernandez (1902-1956), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New Mexico State House of Representatives, 1935; U.S. Representative from New Mexico at-large, 1943-56; Died in office 1956; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Mexico, 1944
Angelique Fernandez, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Democrats Abroad, 2000
Andy Fernandez, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 46th District, 2012
... (Another 45 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Fernandez family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Eduardo Fernandez, English Fireman from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 11

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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)
Germans to America retrieved 21st October 2021. Retrieved from Glazier, Ira. A., and Filby, P. William. Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. Vol. 62, Scholarly Resources Inc, 2188
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 10) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/