Díaz ( surname ) - wikipedia Díaz ( surname ) For other uses, see Diaz ( disambiguation ). Díaz Pronunciation Spanish : ( ˈdiaθ ), in Latin America : ( ˈdias ) Origin Region of origin Spain, Portugal Meaning `` Son of Diego '' Other names Variant ( s ) Diaz ( anglicized ), Dias ( Portuguese variant ) Díaz is a common Spanish surname with multiple meanings in multiple languages. First found in Castile, where the name originated in the Visigoth period, the name accounts for about 0.17 % of the Spanish population, ranking as the 14th-most frequently found surname in both 1999 and 2004 compared to the most popular Spanish surname of those years. Contents 1 Variants and related names 2 Usage 2.1 Frequency 3 Persons 3.1 Arts and entertainment 3.2 Politics and military 3.3 Sports 3.4 Others 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Variants and related names There is minor evidence that Díez may be equivalent to Díaz, in the form of Spanish language listing of most frequent surnames in 1999 Spain ( OcioTotal 1999 ). However, a 2008 in - press academic manuscript about Spanish naming in 2004 suggests otherwise, listing statistics for `` Díaz '' and `` Díez '' separately ( Mateos & Tucker 2008 ). In relation to descent from the Biblical names James and Jacob, it has been surmised that Díaz is a derivation of Diego from Iago ( Smith 1986 ), Sant Iagus. A second source suggests Díaz as being derived from a Gothic form of the paternal genitive of Dia, as in `` Dia 's child '', or Diag, Diago or Diego ( Dixon 1857 ). Dias translates into `` son of Jacob ''. The surname is cognate with the Portuguese language surname Dias. Usage Díaz and the anglicized form Diaz appear to be surnames only, without evidence for use as given names. Use of Diaz may arise through Anglicization of Portuguese language Dias, as in the case of Bartolomeu Dias. Many examples of the surnames Díaz exist among historically notable people as a patronymic of Diego. Among the earliest such examples is El Cid, whose real name was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, and whose father 's given name was Diego ( Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 ). There is at least one instance of use as a single name, the former Norwegian rap artist Diaz, who was born to a Spanish father and Norwegian mother ; his birth name was `` Andrés Rafael Díaz ''. Frequency In Latin America Díaz was among the top 25 % of surnames in use based on a study conducted in 1987 by the Institute for Genealogy and History for Latin America ( De Platt 1996, pages 31 -- 32 ). Spanish surnames, including Díaz, are found more abundantly in Southern Italy than other non-Italian surnames as a result of the domination of Italy by Spain during the 17th century ( Fucilla 1949 ). The following matrix contains available information on the frequency of this surname in various countries across a span of years. Country 1880 -- 1889 1960 -- 1969 1990 -- 1999 2000 -- 2009 Australia 2002 : 0.008 % ( rank ? ) ( c ) New Zealand 2002 : 0.002 % ( rank ? ) ( c ) Spain 1999 : 0.74 % ( rank 14 ) ( a ) 2004 : na % ( rank 14 ) ( b ) United Kingdom 1881 : na % ( rank 23,037 ) ( c ) 1998 : 0.001 % ( rank 10,773 ) ( c ) United States 1964 : 0.047 % ( rank 335 ) 1990 : 0.084 % ( rank 99 ) ( d ) 1990 : 0.014 % ( rank ? ) ( c ) 2000 : 0.18 % ( rank 73 ) ( d ) Reference codes, see # References : ( a ) = OcioTotal 1999, ( b ) = Mateos & Tucker 2008, ( c ) = Longley, et al., ( d ) = United States Census Bureau 1995, ( e ) = United States Census Bureau 2000 Several assessed countries have shown no instances of this surname, among these being Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Scotland ( Bowie 2003 ; Longley, et al. ). Persons Arts and entertainment Alirio Díaz ( 1923 -- 2016 ), Venezuelan guitarist Andres Rafael Diaz Rosa ( born 1976 ), Spanish / Norwegian rapper `` Diaz '' Alyssa Diaz ( born 1985 ), American - Colombian actress Cameron Diaz ( born 1972 ), American actress, producer, and former fashion model Dilia Díaz Cisneros ( born 1925 ), Venezuelan teacher and poet Diomedes Díaz ( 1957 -- 2013 ), Colombian singer, singer, songwriter and composer Gloria Diaz ( born 1951 ) Filipino actress, TV host and beauty queen, first Filipino to win Miss Universe Joey Diaz ( born 1963 ), Cuban - American stand up comedian, actor, podcast host Jonny Diaz ( born 1984 ), American contemporary Christian musician Johnny Diaz, American novelist and a journalist José Manuel Díaz ( 1936 -- 2013 ), Venezuelan actor and comedian in television and film known by the mononym Joselo Junot Díaz ( 1986 ), American writer Lav Diaz or Lavrente Indico Diaz ( born 1958 ), Filipino independent filmmaker Leandro Díaz ( composer ) ( 1928 -- 2013 ), Colombian composer Paquito Diaz ( 1937 -- 2011 ), Filipino actor and director Rafael Díaz Ycaza ( 1925 -- 2013 ), Ecuadorian poet and writer Ramón Díaz Sánchez ( 1903 -- 1968 ), Venezuelan writer Rocsi Diaz ( born 1983 ), Honduran - born, American television personality and model Romy Diaz ( 1941 -- 2005 ), Filipino actor Roxana Díaz ( born 1972 ), Venezuelan television actress Simón Díaz ( 1928 -- 2014 ), Venezuelan singer and composer Ulpiano Díaz ( 1900 -- 1990 ), Cuban percussionist Zadi Diaz, American podcaster and video blogger Politics and military Adam Perez Diaz ( 1909 - 2010 ), the first Hispanic elected to the Phoenix City Council and also the first Hispanic to serve as Phoenix 's Vice-Mayor Armando Diaz ( 1861 -- 1928 ), Italian General and a Marshal of Italy during World War I José E. Díaz ( 1833 -- 1867 ), Paraguayan general, hero of the Paraguayan War Porfirio Díaz ( 1830 -- 1915 ), Mexican soldier, politician, dictator who served seven terms as President of Mexico, President of Mexico following the French intervention in Mexico Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( c. 1043 -- 1099 ), better known as El Cid, or Rodrigo, Castilian nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain Domingo Díaz Arosemena ( 1875 - 1949 ) Panamanian politician and president from 1948 - 1949 Sports Aledmys Díaz ( born 1990 ), Cuban baseball player Antonio Díaz Jurado ( 1969 -- 2013 ), Spanish footballer Brahim Díaz ( born 1999 ), Spanish footballer Hidilyn Diaz ( born 1991 ), Filipino weightlifter Juan Díaz Sánchez ( 1948 -- 2013 ), Spanish footballer known as Juanito Nate Diaz ( born 1985 ), American mixed martial arts ( MMA ) fighter Nick Diaz ( born 1983 ), American mixed martial arts ( MMA ) fighter Patricia Díaz Perea ( born 1984 ), Spanish professional triathlete Raquel Diaz ( born 1990 ), ring name of American professional wrestler Shaul Guerrero. Also singer, model Hugo Díaz, multiple people Others Bartolomeu Dias ( c. 1451 -- 1500 ), first European known to have sailed around the Southern tip of Africa Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 to 1496, precise birth date is uncertain -- 1584 ), Spanish conquistador Federico Díaz Legórburu Matthew Diaz, American military lawyer Miguel H. Díaz, American diplomat Virgilio Morales Díaz, was one of the last National Chief Scouts of Cuban Scouting See also Dias, the Portuguese cognate of Díaz Spanish naming customs References Jump up ^ Mateos & Tucker 2008, OcioTotal 1999 Jump up ^ Rank 16 among Hispanic - Americans ( De Platt 1996, pages 15 -- 16 ) Bowie, Neil ; GWL Jackson ( 2003 - 02 - 18 ). `` Surnames in Scotland over the last 140 years ''. General Register Office for Scotland. Archived from the original on 2010 - 03 - 23. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 01. Carr, Derek C. ( March 1999 ) ( 1999 ). `` Arabic and Hebrew auctoritates in the Works of Enrique de Villena ''. In Auguste Elfriede Christa Canitz and Gernot Rudolf Wieland. From Arabye to Engelond. University of Ottawa Press. pp. 56 -- 57 ( Note 16 ). ISBN 0 - 7766 - 0517 - 8. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 01. Catholic Encyclopedia ( 1913 ). s : Catholic Encyclopedia ( 1913 ) / El Cid. Retrieved on 2008 - 05 - 02. De Platt, Lyman ( 1996 ) ( 1996 ). Hispanic Surnames and Family History. The Hispanic Book of Generations. 1 ( 1st ed. ). Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 0 - 8063 - 1480 - X. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 30. Dixon, Bernard Homer ( 2006 - 08 - 08 ) ( 1857 ). Surnames ( 2nd ed. ). Google Books. p. 20. Retrieved 2998 - 04 - 30. Check date values in : accessdate = ( help ) Fucilla, Joseph Guerin ( 1987 ) ( 1949 ). Our Italian Surnames ( reprint ed. ). Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 109, footnote 6. ISBN 0 - 8063 - 1187 - 8. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 30. Mateos, Pablo ; Ken Tucker ( 2008 ). `` Forenames and Surnames in Spain in 2004 '' ( PDF ). Names a Journal of Onomastics. ( in press ). Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 28. OcioTotal ( 1999 - 12 - 01 ). `` Los 40 apellidos mas comunes en España ''. Genealogía y heráldica ( in Spanish ). OcioTotal.com. Archived from the original on 2008 - 04 - 30. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 28. Smith, Elsdon Coles ( 1986 ) ( 1986 ). `` Surnames From Father 's Name ''. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 63 -- 64. ISBN 0 - 8063 - 1150 - 9. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 27. United States Census Bureau ( 9 May 1995 ). s : 1990 Census Name Files dist. all. last ( 1 - 100 ). Retrieved on 2008 - 04 - 04. United States Census Bureau ( 2000 ). `` Top 1000 Names ''. Frequently Occurring Surnames From Census 2000. U.S. Department of Commerce. Archived from the original ( XLS ) on 2008 - 12 - 09. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 01. External links A history of the Díaz surname compiled by the Institute for Genealogy and History for Latin America is available for a fee. See pages 38 and 39 of https://books.google.com/books?id=xxcSboo5KTAC for more information. Surname list This page lists people with the surname Diaz. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person 's given name ( s ) to the link. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Díaz_ ( surname ) &oldid = 854260367 '' Categories : Surnames Spanish - language surnames Surnames of Spanish origin Patronymic surnames Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2008 CS1 errors : dates CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) Articles with short description All set index articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Español Nederlands Edit links This page was last edited on 10 August 2018, at 01 : 54 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: where does the last name diaz originate from
Answer: Castile, where the name originated in the Visigoth period