de la Peña or Peña is a topographic surname originally given to someone living near a cliff. It is used in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and Galician names. It is the 2,469th most common surname in the world and is most prevalent in the United States.

History

The origin of the surname de la Peña (also Peña) is in present-day Galicia, Spain. It derives from the word "penna," which typically describes a prominent rock or fortress.

Notable people with the name

*Captain General Don Manuel la Peña ''fl.''(1808–1811), sometimes referred to as Lapeña, was a Spanish

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

who served during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

(''Guerra de la Independencia Española''). *Don

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) was a Mexican politician and lawyer, interim president of Mexico from September to November 1847 and president from January 1848 to June 1848. *Don Lucas de Zafra-Vazquez y Tallada, de la Plaza y de la Peña, Marquess de los Arenales, Señor de Castril in Granada. *Don

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

y de la Peña, Marquess de Bradomin, (1866–1936) was a Spanish

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and member of the Spanish

Generation of 98 The Generation of '98 () was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), committed to cultural and aesthetic renewal, and associated with modernismo. The name was coine ...

. *Don Gaspar Castellano y de la Peña, Count de Castellano, was a Spanish author. *Don José González de la Peña y Rodríguez de la Encina, Barón de Forna (1887–1961) was a Spanish portrait painter and artist, and consul general of Spain in Venezuela. *

Luis Sáenz Peña Luis Sáenz-Peña (2 April 1822 – 4 December 1907) was a lawyer and President of Argentina. He was the father of president Roque Sáenz Peña. Biography Luis Saenz-Peña was born on 2 April 1822 to Roque Julián Sáenz-Peña and María Lu ...

(1822–1907), President of Argentina (1892–1895) *

Roque Sáenz Peña Roque José Antonio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Sáenz-Peña (19 March 1851 – 9 August 1914) was an Argentine politician and lawyer who served as President of Argentina from 12 October 1910 to his death in office on 9 August 1914. He was th ...

(1851–1914), President of Argentina (1910–1914) * Pedro Pablo Peña Cañete (1864–1943), President of Paraguay (1912) *Stefan de la Peña ''fl.'' (1969–2004), intellectual and philosopher of

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

*Don

Alfonso Peña Boeuf Alfonso Peña Boeuf (23 January 1888 – 1 February 1966) was a Spanish civil engineer and administrator. He was Minister of Public Works from 1938 to 1945 in the government of General Francisco Franco. He did much to reconstruct the roads and rai ...

(1888–1966) was Minister of Transport in the Spanish Government (1938–1945) during the

Francoist State Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of History of Spain, Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . ...

*Don Ricardo Enrique Pallasa de la Peña III (1853–1898), Barón de Azucar and General of the Spanish Naval fleet in the Philippines (1893–1898) *Don Pedro Juan de la Peña (1855–1945), personal chef to King Alfonso XIII (1885–1905) * José Manuel Castañón de la Peña (1920–2001), was a Spanish writer born in Pola de Lena (Asturias) who lived in exile in Venezuela during the

. * Adam de la Peña, American voice actor, comedy writer, producer, and director.

Holders of Spanish titles of nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries

People with the surname de la Peña or Peña who held a title of nobility in Spain in more recent years 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 Reynaldo Enriques De la Pena, oldest son, last with royal family blood

Bibliography

*Elenco de grandezas y títulos nobiliarios españoles 2006 (Ampelio Alonso de Cadenas y López/Hidalguía) *Blasonario de la consanguinidad ibérica 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pena Catalan-language surnames Galician-language surnames Portuguese-language surnames Spanish-language surnames