Peña or de la Peña is a Spanish

habitation surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

. The origin of the surname can be traced directly to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, it is also a

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

surname; the earliest public record of the surname dates to the 13th century in the Valley de Mena (Burgos) in the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

. The origin of the last name is in present-day Galicia, Spain. The Peñas lived, originally, near a cliff or rocky land. Records indicate that the name derives from the Spanish word ''peña'' meaning "rock," "crag" or "cliff." The bearers of this surname proved their noble descent in the

Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword ( pt, Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada) is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientifi ...

in 1626, 1629, 1651 and 1657; in the Order of Calatrava, in 1657, 1687, 1688, 1700 and 1785; in the Order of Alcántara in 1644 and 1693 and in the

Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Carlos III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

, in 1790 and 1838; and many times in the Royal Audiencia and Chancillería of Valladolid; in the Royal Audience of Oviedo, in 1788 and 1795; and in the Royal Company of Midshipmen in 1767. The Peñas have a great presence in Mexico. There are two towns most notably that are full of Peña families. One is in the town called Talpa, Jalisco and the other is Las Varas, Nayarit. They have been known to be wealthy property owners.

Notable Peñas

Alejandro Peña Esclusa Alejandro Peña Esclusa (born 3 July 1954) Periodismo de Verdad, 5 August 2010¿Quién es y qué ha hecho Alejandro Peña Esclusa?/ref> is a Venezuelan writer, analyst and political consultant, expert on the subject of the Sao Paulo Forum, about w ...

(born 1954), Venezuelan leader of the NGO Fuerza Solidaria and president of the NGO UnoAmérica *

Alfredo Peña Alfredo Antonio Peña (13 April 1944 – 6 September 2016) was a Venezuelan journalist and politician. Journalism career He studied journalism at the Central University of Venezuela and became well known after he was hired as the director of th ...

(1944–2016), Venezuelan journalist and politician *

Antonio Peña (disambiguation) Antonio Peña may refer to: *Antonio Peña Díaz (born 1936), Mexican biochemist who received the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology (UNESCO, 2003) *Antonio Peña (1951 – 2006), Mexican professional wrestling promoter *Antonio Francisco Peñ ...

, several people * Carlos Peña (disambiguation), several people *

Cristina Peña Cristina Peña Raigal (born 27 July 1976) is a Spanish stage, film, and television actress. Biography She studied at the Juan Carlos Corazza school. She began in the interpretation with small roles on films and TV series (''Manos a la obra'', ...

(born 1976), Spanish actress *

Dan Peña Daniel Steven Peña Sr. (born August 10, 1945) is an American businessman. Early life Peña is Mexican American and was raised in East Los Angeles, California. In 1971, he graduated from San Fernando Valley State College School of Business Ad ...

(born 1945), American-Scottish businessman and author * Elizabeth Peña (1959–2014), American actress *

Ellen Hart Peña Ellen Hart Peña (born May 19, 1958) is an American lawyer and former athlete. Career Peña competed in the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 meter run and the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon. Unfortunately, due to the boycott of the Moscow ga ...

(born 1958), American world-class runner and lawyer *

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...

(born 1966), President of Mexico (2012–2018) *

Enrique Peña Sánchez Enrique Peña Sánchez (17 July 1880 – 13 April 1922) was a leading Cuban cornet player, orchestra leader and composer. Biography Born in Puerto Padre, a small town in the old province of Oriente, Peña studied with Marcos González and Jos� ...

(1880–1922), Cuban musician * Federico Peña (born 1947), American politician *

Gabriela Peña Gabriela Peña Romero (born 23 August 1995) is a Dominican footballer who plays as a forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association ...

(born 1995), Dominican footballer *

Horacio de la Peña Horacio Armando de la Peña (born 1 August 1966), nicknamed "el Pulga" ("the Flea"), is a tennis coach and a former tennis player from Argentina, who reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 31. De la Peña was born in Buenos Aires. ...

(born 1966), Argentinean tennis player * José Peña (born 1987), Venezuelan steeplechaser *

José Francisco Peña Gómez José Francisco Peña Gómez (6 March 1937 – 10 May 1998) was a politician from the Dominican Republic. He was the leader of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), a three-time candidate for president of the Dominican Republic and former May ...

(1937–1998), Politician from the Dominican Republic, leader of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). * Luis Sáenz Peña (1822–1907), President of Argentina (1892–1895) *

Manuel de la Peña y Peña José Manuel de la Peña y Peña (10 March 1789 – 2 January 1850) was a Mexican lawyer and judge, who served two non-consecutive, but closely following terms as the president of Mexico during the Mexican American War. In contrast to many ot ...

(1789–1850), interim president of Mexico from September to November 1847 and president from January 1848 to June 1848 *

Manuel la Peña Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

(1808–1811), or Lapeña, Spanish military officer who served during the Peninsular War *

Miguel Peña Miguel Peña may refer to: *Miguel Peña (politician) (1781–1833), Venezuelan politician * Miguel Peña (runner) (1897–?), Spanish distance runner See also *Miguel Peña Parish Miguel Peña is by far the largest civil parish in the municipal ...

(1781–1833), Venezuelan politician *

Nicolás Rodríguez Peña Nicolás Rodriguez Peña (1775, in Buenos Aires – 1853, in Santiago de Chile) was an Argentine politician. Born in Buenos Aires in April 1775, he worked in commerce which allowed him to amass a considerable fortune. Among his several successfu ...

(1775–1853), businessman and politician, a key figure during the May Revolution in Argentina *

Pedro Pablo Peña Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

Cañete (1864–1943), President of Paraguay (1912) * Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña, Marquess de Bradomin, (1866–1936), Spanish dramatist, novelist and member of the Spanish Generation of 98 * Roque Sáenz Peña (1851–1914), President of Argentina (1910–1914) * Santiago Peña (born 1978), President-elect of Paraguay (assuming office in August 2023) * Sergio Peña (disambiguation), several people * Tony Peña (disambiguation), several people * Tony Peña (born 1957), Dominican baseball player *

William Merriweather Peña William Merriweather Peña (February 10, 1919 – February 10, 2018) was an American architect and partner of Caudill Rowlett Scott. He is known for being a leading proponent in the area of architectural programming. A U.S. Army veteran from Worl ...

(1919–2018), American architect

Holders of Spanish titles of nobility and lordships in the 21st century

People with the surname de la Peña or Peña holding a title of nobility in Spain at present include: *Don Ramiro Pérez-Maura y de la Peña, Grandee of Spain, Duke de Maura and Count de Mortera (Granted in 1930 and 1876 respectively) *Don Antonio González de Aguilar y de la Peña, Marquess de Arenal (Granted in 1847) *Don Magín Peña y Lorca, Marquess de Ogijares (Granted in 1889) *Doña Marina Peña y Paradela, Countess de Gaviria (Granted in 1837) *Doña Helena de la Peña y Robles, Countess de Xauen (Granted in 1929) *Doña Matilde Francisca Barriouevo y Peña, Vincountess de Barrionuevo (Granted in 1891) *Don William de la Peña Yappen, Marques of Villar del Águila (Granted in 1689)

Notable Peñas

Holders of Spanish titles of nobility and lordships in the 21st century

Other

Further reading

References

External links