where does the last name Garcia come from?
82388
It comes from Jerry-- of course.
64594
its from the greek word Genea meaning "generation,race"
538029
Doesn't seem to be any Celtic/Irish connection. His real name was Robert Leroy Parker.\n"Butch Cassidy (April 13, 1866 - 1908?), American outlaw, was born Robert Leroy Parker in Beaver, Utah, the oldest of thirteen children born to Mormon pioneers from England."
20620
Some suggest that the word California may signify that a place is "hot as an oven" (cali > hot, fornia > oven). It may be derived from caliente fornalia, Spanish for hot furnace, or it may come from calida fornax, Latin for hot climate.\n\nAnother possible source may be kali forno, an indigenous phrase meaning "high mountains". There is no agreement among scholars.\n\nThe name California comes from a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance ("Las Sergas de Esplandian") written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510. The Spanish explorers originally thought that California was an island.
997562
The name Barratt only follows your father's heritage along the paternal branches of your family tree. It doesn't take into account at all the fact that your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. could have been directly descended from the Viking tribes.\n\nSorry I couldn't just say "Yes, Barratt is definitely a Norse surname". You've got more homework to do.
821813
If you mean Merlin, as in Merlin the Magician in King arthur stories, it was originally  Myrddin. \nThis may have arisen from a place-name in Wales meaning "sea fort".\nMy name, Diane, means "divine".
192428
The surname is often based on people's professions way back in history.  So someone who is a Smith could have been a blacksmith, silversmith, goldsmith etc.  My maiden name was King, but unfortunately it doesn't mean I have royal connections.  When the street players (mummers) used to entertain people in the market places, the character who used to play the King often got called that off-stage.
998091
Germany\n\nhttp://www.last-names.net/surname.asp?surname=Arnold
672531
Armenta is a Spanish surname. There should be no translation I think, since there isn't an entry for it in the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española).\n\nThe name Armenta is originally derived from the Germanic name "Armendar", which is a baptismal name that means "the son of Herman".\n\nCheck this out: \nhttp://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/armenta-family-crest.htm
642259
One of the problems you may encounter is that sometimes immigrants changed their names in the new country.  For example, in John Jake's book "Homeland" he tells the story of a German immigrant family to the US named 'Kronin', who upon arriving in the US changed their name to 'Crown'.  The name 'Delbrey' could have been made up.  I know a person who was of Hungarian ancestry, and I believe the original name may have been something like 'Fulke', after a divorce changed her name from Shaeffer to 'Folk'.  So you see the problems in trying to trace things like this can be overwhelming.  Unless you have some record of the family line going way back it could be a very difficult search indeed.
381013
it's actually spelled Quinceañera. as for the history, here are a few links for you.\n\nhttp://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/research/folklore/quinceaneras/aqlitrep.htm\n\nhttp://www.sanbenito.k12.tx.us/schools/BertaCabaza/HSSB/Language_Arts/Quin_History.html\n\nhttp://pressroom.hallmark.com/quinceanera.html
39949
The name itself comes from England.  \n\nIn the United States, the family name is generally attributed to one of the pilgrim passengers of the Mayflower in 1620.  He became a successful merchant in the Cape Cod area and had 11 children.  There is a genealogical society dedicated to him entitled The Pilgrim John Howland Society.  His descendents are now spread throughout the world.
583409
I've heard from Mexicans in Mexico that the term gringo came from the military of the US. The battle cry "Green Go".I can't attest to the accuracy of this explanation. We are all known as "Bolillos" which is a white bread roll in Mexico.Gabachos,guedo pronounced"wedo" these terms refers to the light skin.It is very common to call people nicknames referring to their skin color hair,shortness,tallness etc.These usually aren't meant as insults or racial slurs.
631756
Try not to get hung up on race and the idea of being mixed, as long as humans have inhabited Earth pretty much every race has been mixed in one form or another, that is how so many races have come into existences. My father's last name is Williams but we're not Germanic-Austrian. But for your peace of mind: Navarro is originally Italian, and in the late 10th century Spaniard families began to don this as a surname. The reason why many Filipino families have this name is because when Portuguese and Spanish travelers came to the Philippines, the travelers gave their names to the slaves and families that were in their possession.\nPeace.
351953
Zaragoza: couldnt find\n\nMerida: couldnt find\n\nMexico: After the Mexica branch of the Aztecs. The origin of the term "Mexxica" remains uncertain. Some take it as the old Nahuatl word for the sun. Others say it derived from the name of the leader Mexitli. Yet others simply ascribe it to a type of weed that grows in Lake Texcoco. Leon Portilla suggests that it means "navel of the moon" from Nahuatl metztli (moon) and xictli (navel). Alternatively, it could mean "navel of the maguey" (Nahuatl metl). \n\nCatalonia: couldnt find\n\nItaly: From Latin Italia, the name having entered Latin from a non-Latin source. The etymology of Italia probably directly relates to an ancient Greek word italos (bull), from PIE *wet; the Greek word follows the sound-changes from Proto-Indo-European to Greek, but the Latin equivalent vitulus (young bull) from this root, does not. Speakers of ancient Oscan called Italy Viteliu, also from PIE *wet. Varro wrote that the region got its name from the excellence and abundance of its cattle (italos, "bull" hence italia). Some disagree with this etymology. Compare Italus. \nFriagi or Friaz' in Old Russian: from the Byzantine appellation for the medieval Franks. \nValland (variant in Icelandic): land of "valer", (an Old Norse name for Celts, later also used for the Romanized tribes). \nWłochy (Polish) and Olaszország (Hungarian): from Gothic walh, the same root as in Valland, see details under "Wallachia" below.\n\nRome: "Roman Realm". The Roman Empire conquered a large part of the territory of the country, and the inhabitants became Romanized (Romanians). Older variants of the name include "Rumania" and (in a French-influenced spelling) "Roumania". Compare the origin of the name of the Sultanate of Rüm. \nDacia, older name and Latin variant: named after the ancient people the Dacians. \nWallachia, Slavic name for the country, from the Gothic word for Celts (walh), later also used for the Romanized tribes. This Germanic form derives from the name of the Celtic tribe of Volcae. Compare with the etymologies of the names "Wales" and "Wallonia". \n\nLondon: couldnt find\n\nCambridge: couldnt find\n\nNormandy: couldnt find\n\nYucatan: couldnt find\n\nBrazil: Named after the brazilwood tree, so-named because its reddish wood resembled the color of red-hot embers (brasil in Portuguese).
1029309
The surname of Burls originated in England.  This was the name given to the cup bearers of noble families.  It is derived from the word "byrle" which means "cup bearer or butler."  Hope this helps.  You can view a picture of the Burls family crest at http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/burles-family-crest.htm
960071
The surname Lawson is taken from 'Law' and denotes someone who is the 'son of law'. The most likely source of the name is either from the name Lawrence believed to have originated from a person who lived near a laurel tree or from the Old English word hlaw meaning a hill and therefore a person 'the son of who lived on or near the hill'.