Show ContentsCalvo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Calvo, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Calvo, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate.

Early Origins of the Calvo family

The surname Calvo was first found in Castile, preeminent among the northern Christian kingdoms of mediaeval Spain.

Early History of the Calvo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Calvo research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Calvo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calvo Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Calvo, Calva, Calvillo and others.

Early Notables of the Calvo family

Prominent among members of the family

  • were eighteenth century Cuban military officer Pedro José Calvo de la Puerta
  • nineteenth century Colombian politician Bartolomé Calvo
  • nineteenth century Argentinian diplomat Carlos Calvo
  • nineteenth century Bolivian politician and writer Daniel Calvo
  • nineteenth century Spanish actor José Ramón Calvo
  • nineteenth century Colombian politician and jurist Mariano Enrique Calvo

Calvo World Ranking

In the United States, the name Calvo is the 7,351st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Calvo is ranked the 2,915th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Calvo is the 88th popular surname with an estimated 52 people with that name. 3


United States Calvo migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Calvo Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Bartolomé Calvo, who sailed to America in 1512
  • Lorente Calvo, who settled in America in 1526
  • Juan Calvo, went to America in 1528
  • Benito Calvo, traveled to Cartagena in 1535
Calvo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jose Calvo, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
  • Juan Felipe Calvo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
  • Juana Antonia Calvo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
  • Maria DeLaMerced Calvo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
  • Maria DelPatrocinio Calvo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 4
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Calvo Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Domingo Calvo, who arrived in Alabama in 1922 4

West Indies Calvo 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
Calvo Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • Pablo Calvo, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1835 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Calvo (post 1700) +

  • Francisco Omar Calvo, American health scientist
  • Alberto Calvo, American radio broadcasting executive
  • Gabriel Calvo (1955-2021), Spanish gymnast who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics
  • Jorge Orlando Calvo (1961-2023), Argentine geologist and paleontologist working for "Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas Lago Barreales"
  • Pedro Prado Calvo, Chilean architect and writer
  • Esther Neira de Calvo (1903-1952), politician in Panama
  • Pedro Calvo Asensio (1821-1863), Spanish playwright, journalist and politician
  • Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, Spanish engineer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain 1981-82
  • José Calvo Sotelo, Spanish politician and writer of the 1930s
  • Ignacio Calvo Sánchez (1864-1930), Spanish writer, clergyman and archaeologist


  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. "List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
  4. 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)
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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