Show ContentsRomero History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Romero

What does the name Romero mean?

From the historical and enchanting region of Spain emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Romero family. Originally, the Spanish people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Spain is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman.

Early Origins of the Romero family

The surname Romero was first found in Aragon, one of the medieval Christian kingdoms of northern Spain.

Early History of the Romero family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Romero research. Another 206 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1137, 1148, 1170, 1229, 1238, 1239, 1282 and 1469 are included under the topic Early Romero History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Romero Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Romero, Romera, Romeros, Romeu and others.

Early Notables of the Romero family

Prominent among members of the family

  • were Francisco, José, Juan and Pedro Romero, members of an illustrious Spanish family of bullfighters of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
  • nineteenth century Spanish poet Gregorio Romero Larrañaga
  • nineteenth century Mexican diplomat and politician Matías Romero

Romero World Ranking

In the United States, the name Romero is the 239th most popular surname with an estimated 111,915 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Romero is ranked the 702nd most popular surname with an estimated 6,877 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Romero is the 14th popular surname with an estimated 166 people with that name. 3


Romero migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Romero Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Iñigo Romero, who landed in America in 1510
  • Cristóbal Romero, went to Venezuela in 1534
  • Alonso Romero, who sailed to New Spain in 1534
  • Rodrigo Romero, who landed in Venezuela in 1534
  • Melchor Romero, moved to Hispaniola in 1534
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Romero Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Michel Romero, who arrived in Louisiana in 1805-1809 4
  • Inigo Romero, who arrived in America in 1810 4
  • Alonso Romero, who arrived in America in 1812 4
  • Cristobal Romero, who landed in America in 1816 4
  • Jose Romero, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1821 4
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Romero migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Romero Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Jose Maria Romero, (b. 1808), aged 28, Jamaican labourer from Spanish Town who was convicted in Trinidad for 10 years for burglary, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 20th January 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1883 5

Romero 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. 6
Romero Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • Melchor Romero, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1834 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Romero (post 1700) +

  • Robert Lee "Chan" Romero (1941-2024), American rock and roll performer, best known for his 1959 song "The Hippy Hippy Shake"
  • Kate de Romero (1937-2023), American-born, First lady of Puerto Rico (1977-1985), known as Doña Kate and Kate Romero, was the wife of Carlos Romero Barceló
  • Rafael Romero Sandrea (1938-2021), Venezuelan track and field athlete who competed in the sprint events in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956; he won two medals (gold and silver) at the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil
  • John Romero (b. 1967), American programmer and creator of the best-selling Doom(tm) series of computer games
  • George Andrew Romero (1940-2017), American-Canadian filmmaker, writer and editor, perhaps best known for his Night of the Living Dead (1968) and many others, the "Father of the Zombie Film"
  • Francisco Romero (1891-1962), Argentine philosopher
  • Cesar Romero (1907-1994), American actor
  • David Romero, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Mexico, 1980 7
  • Carissa Romero, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 2004 7
  • Beleslo Romero, American politician, Delegate to New Mexico State Constitutional Convention, 1969 7
  • ... (Another 41 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

USS Arizona
  • Mr. Vladimir M. Romero, American Seaman First Class from Virginia, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 8


  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. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  8. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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