These are the most common Mexican last names beginning with M, ranked by how many people in Mexico bear them today.
Martinez is the third most common surname in Mexico. It’s also very prevalent in the United States where it ranked 10th in the U.S. census of 2010.
There are twelve other names in this list that are in the top one hundred names.
These rankings come from a database of over 1.25 million workers published by Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education.
List Of Mexican Last Names Starting With M
Let’s start with the alphabetical list of names from Macedo to Manzano.
Maldanado is the only name in this section is in the top 100 names in Mexico.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Macedo | 632 | 4,201 |
| Macias | 129 | 538 |
| Maciel | 772 | 3,142 |
| Madrid | 552 | 1,364 |
| Madrigal | 344 | 1,299 |
| Magaña | 442 | 888 |
| Maldonado | 80 | 249 |
| Mancilla | 429 | 4,486 |
| Mandujano | 687 | 5,660 |
| Manjarrez | 703 | 10,145 |
| Manriquez | 552 | 4,381 |
| Manzano | 401 | 3,697 |
Mexican Names From Marcial to Mayorga
Two names in this section are in the top one hundred Mexican surnames.
I mentioned in the introduction that Martinez is the most common name in this list. The origins are Spanish. The general interpretation of the meaning is that it comes from the Spanish words mal for “badly” and donado for “given”.
Early bearers may have lived on granted lands that were unfavorable in some way, perhaps rocky or wet soil that is poor for farming.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Marcial | 593 | 7,162 |
| Marcos | 692 | 6,688 |
| Mares | 473 | 2,427 |
| Marin | 114 | 784 |
| Mariscal | 733 | 4,238 |
| Marmolejo | 802 | 6,500 |
| Marquez | 62 | 287 |
| Marroquin | 515 | 1,822 |
| Martinez | 3 | 10 |
| Mata | 152 | 724 |
| Mateo | 777 | 2,623 |
| Mateos | 655 | 18,227 |
| Matias | 660 | 3,091 |
| Maya | 435 | 3,466 |
| Mayorga | 616 | 3,679 |
Mexican Names From Medel to Meza
Five surnames in this section are in the top one hundred. Mendoza is the highest, ranked 22nd.
The origins are Basque, with the word translating to “cold mountain”. Early bearers likely came from mountainous territory.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Medel | 784 | 7,224 |
| Medellin | 525 | 5,577 |
| Medina | 34 | 133 |
| Medrano | 277 | 858 |
| Mejia | 65 | 300 |
| Melchor | 509 | 4,269 |
| Melendez | 238 | 603 |
| Melo | 458 | 3,655 |
| Mena | 318 | 1,832 |
| Mendez | 31 | 162 |
| Mendieta | 535 | 7,209 |
| Mendiola | 638 | 3,337 |
| Mendoza | 22 | 88 |
| Meneses | 248 | 4,143 |
| Meraz | 595 | 4,119 |
| Mercado | 199 | 555 |
| Merino | 350 | 3,073 |
| Meza | 83 | 639 |
Mexican Names From Miguel to Montaño
Two names in this section are in the top one hundred names in Mexico.
Miranda is the highest. There are several places of that name in Portugal and Spain. The Latin origins are in the word mirandus, which refers to someone worthy of admiration.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel | 392 | 3,303 |
| Mijangos | 696 | 21,648 |
| Millan | 336 | 3,339 |
| Miramontes | 735 | 3,998 |
| Miranda | 79 | 330 |
| Mireles | 414 | 2,105 |
| Moctezuma | 451 | 8,775 |
| Moguel | 793 | 33,036 |
| Mojica | 552 | 2,450 |
| Molina | 84 | 320 |
| Mondragon | 301 | 1,941 |
| Monroy | 224 | 2,456 |
| Montalvo | 366 | 1,531 |
| Montaño | 418 | 1,286 |
Mexican Names From Montejo to Murillo
Three names in this section are in the top one hundred surnames in Mexico.
Morales is the highest at #13. This is a Spanish name that means mulberry trees. Early bearers likely lived near woodland with mulberry trees.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Montejo | 521 | 16,887 |
| Montero | 246 | 2,090 |
| Montes | 111 | 723 |
| Montiel | 184 | 2,896 |
| Montoya | 160 | 459 |
| Mora | 112 | 583 |
| Morales | 13 | 63 |
| Moreno | 25 | 124 |
| Mosqueda | 633 | 3,668 |
| Mota | 385 | 2,547 |
| Moya | 605 | 2,001 |
| Munguia | 428 | 2,857 |
| Muñiz | 499 | 1,147 |
| Muñoz | 78 | 168 |
| Murillo | 202 | 757 |
Notes About The List
The data comes from an open database of 1,256,438 federal education workers published by Mexico’s Secretaría de Educación Pública. The processed data is published on GitHub as mexican-names.
The Mexico Rank column shows how common the surname is in Mexico. The lower the number, the more common the name. The U.S. Rank column is the name’s position in the 2010 United States census.
People in Mexico carry two surnames, the father’s followed by the mother’s. Our ranking uses the father’s surname, which is the one a person is normally known by.
Related lists
For surnames common among Hispanic Americans, see our list of Hispanic last names starting with M.
You can also use our surname ranking tool to check how a name ranked in the 2000 and 2010 U.S. censuses.
