Quiroga is a Spanish surname; it originates from the valley and locality of Quiroga in the province of

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

in the Galician region of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Legend has it that in the year 715, a powerful knight defended the entrance to Galicia through the Valley of Quiroga from invasion by the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. As weapons, he used iron-tipped stakes which are the basis for the Quiroga coat-of-arms; five silver stakes (spears) positioned vertically on a green ( sinople) background. The first recorded name of the Quiroga lineage is that of

Vasco De Quiroga Vasco de Quiroga (1470/78 – 14 March 1565) was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico, and one of the judges (''oidores'') in the second Real Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from January 10, 1531, to April 16, ...

born in the year 1218 during the reign of

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of ...

, in the Valley of Quiroga. Branches from the house of Vasco De Quiroga extended through the districts of Monforte,

Mondoñedo Mondoñedo () is a small town and municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. Despite being the core ...

Chantada Chantada, is a municipality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. Chantada is situated on the left bank of the Río Asma, a small right-hand tributary of the Minho river, and on the main road from Ourense, 29 km S. by W., to Lugo, 45&n ...

, Quiroga,

, and

Sarria Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Sarria is the most populous town on the French Way in Galicia, with 13,700 inhabitants. It is head of the region and the most popular ...

. New houses were established in these areas and also in the municipalities of Panton, Lancara, and Cesuras; the parishes of Espasantes, Carballedo, and Lamela; and extending through the regions of

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

and León in northern Spain. Some students of Judaism in Galicia point out that the name Quiroga originated from the flower in Galicia that's called Queiroga by Sephardic Jews to avoid persecution during the Inquisition.

Notable Quirogas

* Fray Alvaro de Quiroga, Abbot of the Monastery of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

* Elena Quiroga (1921–1995), writer, winner of

Premio Nadal Premio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on 6 January since 1944. The Josep Pla Award for Catalan literature is given at the same ceremony. ...

* Facundo Hernán Quiroga, Argentine professional footballer * Gaspar Rodríguez de Quiroga, Archbishop of Toledo, advisor to King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

and Grand Chancellor of Spain *

Horacio Quiroga Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza (31 December 1878 – 19 February 1937) was a Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer. He wrote stories which, in their jungle settings, used the supernatural and the bizarre to show the struggle of ...

(1878–1937), author of ''The Decapitated Chicken'', ''The Exile'', and others * Jahel Quiroga *

Jorge Quiroga Ramírez Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez (born 5 May 1960), often referred to as Tuto, is a Bolivian industrial engineer and politician who served as the 62nd president of Bolivia from 2001 to 2002. A former member of Nationalist Democratic Action, h ...

, Bolivian politician and former Vice-President and then

President of Bolivia The president of Bolivia ( es, Presidente de Bolivia), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia ( es, Presidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the ca ...

. *

Juan Facundo Quiroga Juan Facundo Quiroga (November 27, 1788 – February 16, 1835) was an Argentine caudillo (military strongman) who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation. Early years Quiroga was born in San Antonio, La Rio ...

(1790–1835), Argentine leader of the Andean provinces *

Manuel Quiroga (violinist) Manuel Quiroga Losada (15 April 189219 April 1961) was a Spanish violinist. He was described by music critics as "the finest successor of Pablo de Sarasate", and he is sometimes referred to as "Sarasate's spiritual heir". Enrique Granados, Eugèn ...

(1892–1961), Spanish (Galician) violinist, composer and artist *

Manuel Quiroga Manuel López-Quiroga Miquel (January 30, 1899 – December 13, 1988), better known as Maestro Quiroga, was a Spanish composer especially known for his '' coplas'', ''cuplés'', and ''zarzuelas''. He was also a pianist and one of the group of ...

(1899–1988), pianist, composer and author *

Raúl Quiroga Raúl Nicolás Quiroga (born 26 January 1962, in San Juan Province, Argentina) is a retired volleyball player from Argentina who represented his native country in two Summer Olympics. After having finished in sixth place at the 1984 Summer Olymp ...

, Argentine volleyball player who won the bronze medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

* Ramon Quiroga, Argentine-Peruvian footballer, 1978 Peruvian World Cup player *

Robert Quiroga Robert Quiroga (October 10, 1969 in San Antonio, Texas – August 16, 2004 in San Antonio) was the International Boxing Federation Super flyweight champion from 1990 to 1993. Quiroga successfully defended his title five times and retired in 199 ...

(1969–2004), American boxer *

Robert Quiroga (gridiron football) Robert Anthony Quiroga (born February 7, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Los Angeles Avengers, Orlando Predators and San Antonio Talons. He played college foo ...

(born 1982), American player of gridiron football *

Rodrigo Quiroga Rodrigo Daniel Quiroga (born March 23, 1987) is an Argentine volleyball player member of the Argentina men's national volleyball team and Polish club Jastrzębski Węgiel. He participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Rodrigo won the silver me ...

, Argentine volleyball player, national team captain *

Rodrigo de Quiroga Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa (c. 1512 – February 20, 1580) was a Spanish conquistador of Galician origin. He was twice the Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was the son of Hernado Camba de Quiroga and of María López de Ulloa. In ...

, Captain General, Governor, Mayor of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

* Rodrigo Lopez de Quiroga, governor of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

* Ruy Vázquez de Quiroga, Grand Master of the Order of Alcántara *

Vasco de Quiroga Vasco de Quiroga (1470/78 – 14 March 1565) was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico, and one of the judges (''oidores'') in the second Real Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from January 10, 1531, to April 16, ...

, First Bishop of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

(Mexico) * Arantza Quiroga * Yolanda Quiroga, Bogotá, Colombia * Yvette Quiroga, first female Latina mayor of Mendota *

Raymunda Torres y Quiroga Raymunda Torres y Quiroga ( pen names, Madre Selva, Elena Matilde Wili, Matilde Elena Wili, Matilde Elena Wuili, Leopoldo, Luciérnaga, Estela and Celeste) was an Argentine writer and women's rights activist. She defended access to education and t ...

, 19th-century Argentine writer and women's rights activist

Quirogas and the New World

A notable Quiroga in the history of New Spain was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(1470–1565). He was famous for his personal crusade to aid the conquered peoples of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Rodrigo De Quiroga Lopez De Sober (1512) traveled to Chile in an expedition of conquest in the year 1540. He became one of the founders of the city of Santiago. He served the role of Mayor of Santiago in 1548, 1558, and 1560. He Founded the Convent of

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

as a burial site for his future descendants and families. Rodrigo held many titles throughout his later years and died on February 25, 1580. He had an illegitimate daughter by the name of Isabel De Quiroga. He later married the mother Inés Suarez who was the first Spanish woman to arrive in Chile. Inés had been the faithful companion of Pedro Valdivia who led the expedition to Chile in 1540. Several Quirogas traveled to

in expeditions and later the house of Quiroga expanded through Chile as many of those travelers settled and created new branches. The most well known was Rodrigo De Quiroga, Mayor of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

in the late 16th century. Many Quirogas in Chile followed in his footsteps and became mayors of other cities throughout Chile in the 17th century. In 1557 Juan De Losada y Quiroga traveled to Chile and became Governor of Ciudad De Los Confines (1560–1563), Constable Major of Santiago (1566). He was knighted to Knight of the Order of Santiago. As a general, he commanded the 500 reinforcements in the Battle of Arauco (1574) and died on May 19, 1575, aboard the ship ''Angel Gabriel'' in the gulf of the Island of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

en route to Chile. His nephew Nicolás De Quiroga was on that expedition of 1575. Nicolás was promoted to the rank of captain in 1579, 2nd lieutenant major in 1580, and later served as a High Justice. He was married in 1581 to Ana Farra Ferris De Gamboa, and the two of them helped to propagate the Quiroga name throughout Chile. Nicolás was also a patron to the Convent of Merced. Another notable Quiroga was born in 1878 in the river town of

Salto, Uruguay Salto () is the capital city of the Salto Department in northwestern Uruguay. As of the 2011 census it had a population of 104,028 and is the third most populated city in Uruguay, after Montevideo and Ciudad de la Costa. Location and geography T ...

; his name was Horacio Quiroga. By the year 1900, the 22-year-old was already published in various literary journals. Horacio published many stories, including the following English translated anthologies ''The Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories'', ''South American Jungle Tales'', and ''The Exile and Other Stories''. Horacio was operated for prostate cancer in late 1936 and committed suicide a few months later.

References

{{surname Spanish-language surnames