Guzmán History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
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Spain

The distinguished surname Guzmán comes from Spain, a country rich in culture and history. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Spain were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Spanish patronymic names emerged as early as the mid-9th century and the most common patronymic suffix is "ez."

Early Origins of the Guzmán family

The surname Guzmán was first found in Leon, where the name originated in Visigothic times. Perhaps one of the most famous of the family was Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256-1309), known as Guzmán el Bueno ("the goodman"), a Spanish nobleman, progenitor of the dukes of Medina Sidonia lineage. He is generally thought to have been born in Léon but may have been a non-Spaniard by descent. In 1296, while in defense of the town of Tarifa, his son was offered in exchange for the surrender of the town. He reportedly threw down his knife for the besiegers to use in killing his son. For his sacrifice, he was granted large swaths of lands and thus began the dynasty.

Early History of the Guzmán family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guzmán research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1221, 1310, 1351, 1500, 1508, 1550, 1579, 1581, 1596, 1602, 1603, 1613, 1615, 1636, 1666, 1671 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Guzmán History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guzmán Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Guzmán, Guzman, Gozman, Gotmen, De Guzman and many more.

Early Notables of the Guzmán family

Prominent among members of the family

were Domingo Guzmán (1170-1221), born in Old Castille, better known as St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order of Preaching Friars, known all over the Christian world for his piety and good works
Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia (1550-1615), Grandee of Spain, a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1581, Commander-in-chief of the Spanish Arm...
Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzmán y Silva (1579-1636), a Spanish noble, 8th Duke of Medina Sidonia
Francisco de Tello de Guzmán (d. 1603), Spanish governor of the Philippines from 1596 to 1602, Knight of the Order of Santiago
Manuel Pérez de Guzmán y Pimentel, 12th Duke of Medina Sidonia (1671-1721)

Guzmán World Ranking

In the United States, the name Guzmán is the 317^th most popular surname with an estimated 84,558 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Guzmán is ranked the 9,295^th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Guzmán is the 96^th popular surname with an estimated 50 people with that name. 3

Guzmán migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Guzmán Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Leonor Guzmán, who immigrated to Hispaniola in 1560
Diego Guzmán, moved to New Granada in 1561
Juan Guzmán, who settled in Peru in 1561
Elvira Guzmán, traveled to Guatemala in 1566

Guzmán Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pedro De Guzman, who arrived in America in 1809 4
Pero Guzman, who landed in America in 1813 4
Francisco De Guzman, who arrived in America in 1813 4
Alonso De Guzman, who landed in America in 1815 4
Juan De Guzman, who landed in America in 1817 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Guzmán 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

Guzmán Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Garcia De Guzman, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1834 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Guzmán (post 1700) +

Isabella Casillas Guzman (b. 1970), American government official and business advocate, Administrator of the Small Business Administration Nominee
José-Manuel Garrido Guzmán (b. 1945), Spanish biologist
José Florencio Guzmán Correa (1929-2017), Chilean politician, Minister of Defence (1998-1999)
María Magdalena "Magda" Guzmán Garza (1931-2015), Mexican two-time TVyNovelas Award winning actress
Braulio Luna Guzmán (b. 1974), Mexican footballer
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (1913-1971), President of Guatemala (1951 to 1954)
Vanessa Guzman Neibla (b. 1976), Mexican actress and model
Luis Guzmán (b. 1956), Puerto Rican actor
Juan Guzmán Correa (b. 1966), Dominican professional baseball player
Alejandra Gabriela Guzmán Pinal (b. 1968), award-winning Mexican rock singer and actress
... (Another 3 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/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies