Mexican Last Name Generator

Generate Mexican last names with their accents, from Hernández, García and Martínez to Treviño, Bojórquez, Iturbide, Pech and Moctezuma. The list sets the most common surnames in Mexico beside regional families, Basque-origin names, Yucatec Maya surnames and Nahuatl-origin surnames, one per entry.

About Mexican last names

A Mexican carries two surnames: the father's first surname, then the mother's first surname. The child of a Hernández López and a García Pech is a Hernández García, and a woman keeps both of hers when she marries. This list gives single surnames, with their accents, so you can use one or pair two. The names you meet most often across the country are Hernández, García, Martínez, López and González, and several dozen of the most common ones are here.

The rest of the list is what makes a name sound like one part of Mexico. The northeast around Monterrey has Garza, Treviño, Cantú, Villarreal and Elizondo. Sinaloa and Sonora have Bojórquez, Inzunza, Armenta, Cota and Zazueta. Names of Basque origin arrived with colonial settlers and stayed: Ibarra, Zavala, Arriola, Iturbide, Azcárraga.

Indigenous surnames survive too. On the Yucatán peninsula many families carry short Yucatec Maya names such as Pech, Canul, Dzul, Poot, Uc and Ek. In Tlaxcala, Puebla and central Mexico there are Nahuatl-origin family names, among them Moctezuma, Xicoténcatl, Cuautle, Popoca and Cuamatzi. The list is not ranked by any census, so a rare name comes up as readily as a common one.

How to choose Mexican last names

• Build a full name the Mexican way: a first name, the father's surname, then the mother's, with a space and no hyphen, as in Daniela Treviño Canul. In everyday life most people go by the first surname alone.
• Let the surname place the family. Garza and Cantú suggest Monterrey, Inzunza and Zazueta suggest Culiacán, Pech, Canul, Peniche and Cámara suggest Mérida, and Cuamatzi or Xochitiotzin suggest Tlaxcala.
• Keep the accents and the ñ. Hernández, Cantú and Bojórquez are stressed where the mark says, and Treviño, Ureña and Patiño are different names without the tilde.
• For a name that stands out, skip the ones that end in -ez. Look for a short Maya surname, a long Basque-origin one such as Gorostiza or Ibargüengoitia, or a Nahuatl-origin one such as Tzompantzi.
• Pair a very common surname with a rare one. A character called López Oyervides or García Tecuanhuey is easy to say and still hard to confuse with anyone else in the story.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Mexican last names?

Hernández, García, Martínez, López and González lead, followed by names such as Pérez, Rodríguez, Sánchez, Ramírez, Cruz and Flores. All of these are in the list. It is not in order of frequency, so use this answer, not the order of the results, if you need one of the top names.

Why do Mexicans have two last names?

Because a child takes one surname from each parent: the father's first surname and then the mother's first surname. The two are written side by side without a hyphen, and neither is a middle name. Women keep their own surnames after marriage.

What are some indigenous Mexican last names?

Yucatec Maya surnames are the largest group: Pech, Canul, Dzul, Chan, May, Balam, which means jaguar, and Ek, which means star. Nahuatl-origin surnames include Moctezuma, Xicoténcatl, Cuautle, Popoca and Tecuanhuey, and Tzintzun comes from the Purépecha language of Michoacán. About a quarter of the list is names of this kind.

What are some uncommon Mexican last names?

Try Ibargüengoitia, Zertuche, Oyervides, Yocupicio, Urióstegui, Interián or Xelhuantzi. Each is a surname borne by families in Mexico, but most are tied to one state or region, so they read as rare anywhere else.

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