Dominican Last Name Generator

Browse 500 surnames from the Dominican Republic, from everyday names like Rodríguez, Peña and Rosario to the ones that mark the country, such as Polanco, Tavárez, Almonte, Encarnación, De los Santos and Féliz.

About Dominican last names

These are surnames of the Dominican Republic, the Spanish-speaking country on the island of Hispaniola, not of the island of Dominica. The base is the Castilian stock the whole Spanish-speaking world shares: Rodríguez, Pérez, Martínez, García, Reyes, Peña. The Dominican sound comes from the layer on top: Polanco, Tavárez, Almonte, Paulino, Peguero, Ureña, Encarnación, Féliz, Ogando and Disla, along with particle surnames such as De la Cruz, De los Santos, De León, De Jesús and De Óleo, and surnames that double as given or devotional names, like Evangelista, Florentino and Mercedes.

Dominicans carry two surnames, the father's first surname followed by the mother's first surname, so the child of a Polanco Almonte father and a Féliz Cuevas mother is Polanco Féliz. In daily life most people use only the first. Every entry here is a single surname, accents kept, so you can pair any two.

The list also holds Dominican family names of other origins: Canarian names such as Ravelo, Arvelo, Tejera and Perdomo, Lebanese ones such as Hazim, Haché, Abinader and Majluta, Italian and Catalan ones such as Vicini, Pellerano, Brugal and Batlle, French ones such as Lamarche, Despradel and Pierre, and the English surnames of San Pedro de Macorís and Samaná, such as Carty, Duncan, Griffin and Shephard.

How to choose Dominican last names

• Give a Dominican character two surnames, the father's first and then the mother's first: Polanco Almonte, Féliz Cuevas, Tavárez Ureña. Friends, coworkers and most everyday paperwork use only the first one.
• Keep the accents where Spanish needs them: Tavárez, Mejía, Encarnación, De León, Féliz, Báez, Núñez. For a family in the United States you can drop them the way U.S. records usually do (Tavarez, Mejia, Baez).
• Treat a particle surname as one name. De la Cruz, De los Santos, De Jesús and De Óleo are complete surnames, and families abroad often close them up as Delacruz, Delossantos or Deleon.
• Pick one spelling and stay with it. Jiménez and Jimenes, Nova and Novas, or Tavárez and Taveras are separate surnames in the records, and one family would not switch between them.
• If the name is for a business, a pen name or a published book, search it yourself first. Many of these surnames belong to thousands of living people, and a few to one well-known family.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Dominican last names?

Rodríguez leads, and Pérez, Martínez, García, Reyes, Sánchez, Díaz, Hernández, Peña and Jiménez are among the most widespread. All of them are in this list, next to other everyday Dominican surnames such as Rosario, Guzmán, Santana, Núñez and Castillo.

Which last names sound distinctly Dominican?

Names that are far more familiar in the Dominican Republic than elsewhere: Polanco, Tavárez, Almonte, Paulino, Peguero, Encarnación, Ureña, Féliz, Ogando, Disla, Liriano, Lantigua, Hiciano and Bisonó. Particle surnames such as De la Cruz, De los Santos, De León and De Óleo give the same signal.

How do last names work in the Dominican Republic?

A person carries two surnames: the father's first surname, then the mother's first surname. A child of a Paulino Mejía father and a Peguero Brito mother is Paulino Peguero. In everyday use the second surname is usually left off, which is why this list gives single surnames you can pair yourself.

Why are there Lebanese, Italian, French and English surnames in the list?

Because Dominican families carry them. Hazim, Haché and Abinader are of Lebanese origin, Vicini and Pellerano of Italian origin and Lamarche and Despradel of French origin, and English surnames such as Carty, Griffin and Shephard are found in San Pedro de Macorís and Samaná. A surname alone does not prove anything about a person's ancestry, faith or standing.

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