Panamanian Last Name Generator

Browse 500 Panamanian surnames: Azuero names like Cedeño, Vergara and Cigarruista, Chiriquí names like Pittí and Serracín, canal-era families such as Archibold and Yearwood, and Chinese, Guna, Emberá and Ngäbe surnames like Chong, Kantule, Dogirama and Tugrí.

About Panamanian last names

Panamanians carry two surnames, the father's first and then the mother's first, and both go on the cédula, the national identity card. A list of single surnames is therefore a set of building blocks: Cedeño Vergara, Pittí Serracín, Archibold Chong. The Spanish surnames heard all over the country are here, such as González, Rodríguez, Sánchez and Pérez, but the character of the list lies in its layers.

Surnames often point to a province. Cedeño, Vergara, Barría, Cigarruista and De Gracia are at home in the Azuero peninsula, and Pittí, Serracín, Candanedo, Samudio and Quiel in Chiriquí. English surnames such as Archibold, Alleyne, Brathwaite and Yearwood came with the West Indian workers who built the railroad and the canal, and are heard most in Colón, Bocas del Toro and Panama City. Chinese families that date back to the railroad years are called Chen, Chong, Wong and Him.

Indigenous family names are part of the list too: Kantule and Wagua among the Guna, Tugrí and Montezuma among the Ngäbe, Dogirama, Caisamo and Membache among the Emberá and Wounaan. Merchant families added Motta, Maduro, Cardoze and Fidanque, and later arrivals from Greece, Italy and France left Tzanetatos, Pedreschi and Ducreux. Accents are kept as Panamanians write them.

How to choose Panamanian last names

• Give a character two surnames for anything official, the father's first and then the mother's: Batista Cedeño, Pittí Araúz, Springer Chen. In conversation the first one is enough.
• Let the surname place the character. Cigarruista or Villalaz suggests Azuero, Serracín or Candanedo suggests Chiriquí, Brathwaite or Yearwood suggests Colón or Bocas del Toro, and Kantule suggests Guna Yala.
• Keep accents and particles exactly as written: Pittí, Araúz, Ábrego, Tuñón, Yángüez, De Gracia, Del Cid, De Obaldía.
• Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Emberá and Wounaan surnames belong to living communities. Use them for characters from those communities, with the Spanish given names most people carry on their documents.
• For a real business, a pen name or a published book, search the name yourself first. Many living people share these surnames.

Frequently asked questions

What are common Panamanian last names?

González, Rodríguez, Sánchez, Pérez, Martínez and Castillo are heard in every province, and they are all in the list. Beside them stand surnames that are far more Panamanian than pan-Hispanic, such as Cedeño, Batista, Pittí, Araúz, Samudio and De Gracia.

Why do Panamanians have two last names?

It is the Spanish naming custom. A child takes the father's first surname followed by the mother's first surname, so the child of a Cedeño Vergara father and a Pittí Araúz mother is Cedeño Pittí. Both surnames appear on the cédula, and in daily life most people use only the first.

Why do some Panamanians have English or Chinese last names?

West Indian workers, most of them from Barbados and Jamaica, came to build the Panama Railroad in the 1850s and later the canal, and their descendants kept surnames such as Archibold, Alleyne, Beckford and Yearwood. Chinese workers arrived in the railroad years as well, which is why Chen, Chong, Wong, Yau and Him are Panamanian surnames too.

Are the indigenous surnames on the list real?

The list uses family names carried in Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Emberá and Wounaan communities, such as Kantule, Masardule, Tugrí, Dogirama and Chiquidama. It has not been checked by members of those communities, so treat it as a starting point and not as a full record.

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All 500 Panamanian last names