PENA Last Name Meaning and Origin

Individuals with the Peña surname may have originally lived near a cliff, large rock, or rocky land, The surname derives from the Spanish word peña, meaning "rock," "crag" or "cliff." The name is especially common in Galicia, León, and Castile, Spain.

Peña is the 42nd most common Hispanic surname.

Surname Origin: Spanish

Alternate Surname Spellings: PINA, PINILLA, PENNETTA, PENNAZZI

Famous People with the Surname PENA

• Enrique Peña Nieto - Mexican lawyer and politician; president of Mexico
• Paco Peña - Spanish flamenco guitarist and composer
• Michael Pena - American actor

Genealogy Resources for the Surname PENA

50 Common Hispanic Surnames & Their Meanings
Garcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 50 common Hispanic last names?

The PENA DNA Project
This Y-DNA and mtDNA project is open to all families with the Pena surname, of all spelling variations and all locations. Use DNA to connect and work together to discover your common Pena ancestors. 

PENA Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Pena surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Pena query.

FamilySearch - PENA Genealogy
Find records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Pena surname and its variations.

PENA Surname & Family Mailing Lists
RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Pena surname.

DistantCousin.com - PENA Genealogy & Family History
Free databases and genealogy links for the last name Pena.

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References: Surname Meanings & Origins

Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.

Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.

Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.

Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

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