Show ContentsApodaca History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Apodaca is derived from a place name located in the judicial district of Vitoria, province of Alava, the southernmost of the three Basque Country provincias of northern Spain. The place-name in turn, is said to derive from the Basque word "apo" meaning "bilBerry tree" and the locative suffix "-aka" meaning "place of," or "pasture land."

Early Origins of the Apodaca family

The surname Apodaca was first found in the province of Alava, Basque country. They moved early on to Ziriano and Zigoita, in Alava, and to Ugarte, Arratia and Bilbao, in Vizcaya province.

Early History of the Apodaca family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Apodaca research. The years 1628 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Apodaca History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Apodaca Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Apodaca, de Apodaca, Apodace, Apodacas and others.

Early Notables of the Apodaca family

Prominent among bearers of the family name at this time was

  • Rodrigo de Apodaca, as well as Miguel de Apodaca who were both ennobled at Valladolid in the year 1628, as listed in "El Solar Vasco Navarro" compiled by Alberto y Arturo García Carraffa...
  • Also listed in that volume was Marcos de Apodaca on written record in Viscaya in the year 1769...

Apodaca Ranking

In the United States, the name Apodaca is the 3,171st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [1]


United States Apodaca migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Apodaca Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Antonia Apodaca, aged 53, who landed in America, in 1893
Apodaca Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Saturnina Apodaca, aged 23, who settled in America from Barcena, Spain, in 1915
  • Maria Apodaca, aged 25, who landed in America from Havana, Cuba, in 1922
  • Aurora Apodaca, aged 62, who immigrated to the United States from Havana, Cuba, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Apodaca (post 1700) +

  • Jerry Apodaca (1934-2023), American politician, Chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (1978-1980)
  • Tom Apodaca, Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly
  • Raymond S Apodaca (b. 1934), American politician, Governor of New Mexico (1975-79), eponym of Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico, in the Greater Monterrey metropolitan area
  • Robert John Apodaca (b. 1950), American Major League Baseball player
  • Juan José Ruiz de Apodaca (1754-1835), 1st Count of Venadito, a Spanish Basque naval officer and viceroy of New Spain from 1816 to 1821, during Mexico's War of Independence
  • Rick Apodaca (b. 1980), Puerto Rican professional basketball player


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook