Show ContentsPeñas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Peñas

What does the name Peñas mean?

Noble surnames, such as Peñas, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Peñas, 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. The Peñas family originally lived near a cliff or on a rocky patch of land. Ancient records reveal the name Peñas is derived from the Spanish word "peña," which means "rock," "crag" or "cliff."

Early Origins of the Peñas family

The surname Peñas was first found in Castile, in north central Spain.

Early History of the Peñas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peñas research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1338 is included under the topic Early Peñas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Peñas Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pena, Peña, Penas, Peñas, de Pena, de Peña, de la Pena, de la Peña, Peñal, Penal, Peñón, Peñon, Penón, Penon, Peño, Peno, Peñuela and many more.

Early Notables of the Peñas family

were seventeenth century Spanish writer Juan Antonio de la Peña; eighteenth century Colombian military officer Vicente Peña; nineteenth century Colombian poet Belisario Peña; nineteenth century Ecuadoran jurist and diplomat Lorenzo R. Peña; nineteenth century Colombian naturalist Camilo Peña; nineteenth century Paraguayan publisher and politician Manuel Pedro...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Peñas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Peñas migration to the United States +



Peñas Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Diego Penas, who arrived in America in 1812 1
  • Juan De Penas, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1834 1


  1. 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)


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