Spinoza History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Portugal
• Spain

Etymology of Spinoza

The name Spinoza was originally a Spanish family that moved to Portugal before the sixteenth century. 1 This surname is of toponymic origin, being derived from the name of the place of residence of the initial bearer. In this instance, the surname is taken directly from the place-name Spinoza which is found in a number of Spanish regions including Galicia and the Vascongadas. Thus, the place-name signifies "one from Spinoza". According to etymologists, the place-name Spinoza is derived from the word "espino" which means "hawthorn." Thus, the place-name/surname Spinoza literally signifies "abundance of hawthorn." By extension, the name is also derived from the Latin word 'spinosus,' meaning thorny. For this reason, a hawthorn tree is shown on the coat of arms.

By example, Espinosa de los Monteros is a municipality in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain and this naming tradition continues to the New World where today we find Espinosa, a municipality in the north of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil and Espinosa, a barrio in the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico.

Early Origins of the Spinoza family

Early History of the Spinoza family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spinoza research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1484, 1515, 1537, 1543, 1545, 1547, 1562, 1600, 1630, 1632, 1633, 1667, 1677, 1679 and 1755 are included under the topic Early Spinoza History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spinoza Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Espinosa, Spinosa, Spinoza, Espinoza, Spineus and others.

Early Notables of the Spinoza family

• Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), mostly known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a leading philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in Amsterdam. He was expelled from t...