Show ContentsRibera History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Ribera is a proud sign of a rich and ancient ancestry. The name was originally derived from the Castilian word "rivera," which means "riverbank." Thus it is quite probable that the first families to take on Ribera as a surname lived near the banks of a river.

Early Origins of the Ribera family

The surname Ribera was first found in Castile, the kingdom that led the Reconquest of the peninsula from the Muslims, in medieval times.

Early History of the Ribera family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ribera research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1520, 1532, 1537, 1558, 1588, 1591, 1611, 1652, 1666, 1725, 1765, 1774, 1777, 1779, 1781, 1784, 1830, 1833, 1836, 1854 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Ribera History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ribera Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rivera, Ribera, Ribeira, Rivero, Ribero, Ribeiro and others.

Early Notables of the Ribera family

Prominent among members of the family

  • were Ruy Páez de Ribera, a 15th century lyric poet; Suero de Ribera, a contemporary of Ruy and also a poet; Diego de Rivera, one of the noblemen asked by Princess (later Queen) Isabella to announce to...
  • Francisco Ribera (1537-1591), was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, born at Villacasti­n, Juan de Ribera (1532-1611), born is Seville, was Archbishop of Valencia, Juan de Ribera (1588â-1666), was Bishop of...
  • Juan Maria Antonio Rivera (also spelled Ribera) was an 18th-century Spanish explorer who explored southwestern North America, including parts of the Southern Rocky Mountains. In 1765, at the request o...


United States Ribera migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ribera Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Hernando de Ribera, who voyaged to Brazil and Argentina with Sebastian Cabot in the 1520s
  • María Ribera, who immigrated to Peru in 1560
  • Antonio Ribera, who landed in Peru in 1560
  • Gaspar Ribera, who landed in Peru in 1562
  • Ana Ribera, settled in Hispaniola in 1565
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Ribera Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Francisco Ribera, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 1
  • Gonzalo De Ribera, who landed in America in 1814 1
  • Hernando De Ribera, who arrived in America in 1815 1
  • Arias De Ribera, who landed in America in 1817 1
  • Alonso DeLa Ribera, who landed in America in 1817 1
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Ribera Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Severiano Ribera, who landed in Texas in 1911 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Ribera (post 1700) +

  • Tony Ribera, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of San Francisco, California, 2003 2
  • Alfred Pascual Ribera (b. 1906), Spanish painter


  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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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