These are the most common Mexican last names beginning with P, ranked by how many people in Mexico have the name today.
Two names in this list are indigenous Mayan, Poot and Puc. Others, like Paz and Peña, are literal translations of Spanish words. You’ll find the meaning and origins of these names and more throughout this article.
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 P
Let’s start with the alphabetical list of names from Pablo to Palomo.
Pacheco is the most common name in this section. There are several theories on its origins.
Some scholars link it to the medieval name Pacius, which in turn derives from the Latin pax (peace). Others link it to the Portuguese word paço, which means a royal palace.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pablo | 675 | 5,384 |
| Pacheco | 87 | 419 |
| Padilla | 106 | 293 |
| Padron | 735 | 2,751 |
| Paez | 421 | 3,420 |
| Palacios | 117 | 789 |
| Palafox | 700 | 5,945 |
| Palma | 217 | 1,735 |
| Palomares | 723 | 4,964 |
| Palomino | 710 | 3,800 |
| Palomo | 666 | 4,741 |
Mexican Names From Paniagua to Paz
Parra is the most common name in this section. The origins come from the Spanish for a vine trellis. Early bearers likely lived near or worked with vines.
Paz is a surname that comes from the literal translation of the Spanish word for peace.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Paniagua | 704 | 3,455 |
| Pantoja | 559 | 2,383 |
| Parada | 851 | 4,103 |
| Pardo | 696 | 3,249 |
| Paredes | 193 | 1,287 |
| Parra | 153 | 943 |
| Partida | 491 | 4,002 |
| Pascual | 733 | 2,998 |
| Pastrana | 655 | 6,943 |
| Patiño | 502 | 1,705 |
| Patricio | 1,025 | 8,994 |
| Patron | 1,107 | 16,407 |
| Pavon | 935 | 9,104 |
| Payan | 930 | 5,403 |
| Paz | 343 | 1,384 |
Mexican Names From Pedraza to Perez
Perez is in the top ten surnames in Mexico, ranking seventh. It literally means “son of Pedro”, with Pedro being the Spanish form of the name Peter. The origins are in the Latin petros, a rock or stone.
Peña is the literal Spanish translation for a rock or cliff.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pedraza | 347 | 2,829 |
| Pedroza | 519 | 3,297 |
| Pelaez | 622 | 5,929 |
| Pelayo | 827 | 4,218 |
| Peña | 135 | 227 |
| Peñaloza | 1,178 | 5,003 |
| Perales | 390 | 2,467 |
| Peralta | 140 | 949 |
| Peraza | 631 | 5,811 |
| Perdomo | 1,168 | 3,548 |
| Perea | 548 | 3,124 |
| Pereda | 1,178 | 11,283 |
| Pereyra | 884 | 8,496 |
| Perez | 7 | 22 |
Mexican Names From Picazo to Pioquinto
One name in this section is in the top hundred names in Mexico. Pineda is a Spanish name, with origins in the Spanish for pine trees. Early bearers likely lived near forests of pine.
The surname Pino is even clearer in its meaning, as the word is a direct Spanish translation of “pine”.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Picazo | 1,086 | 11,669 |
| Pichardo | 672 | 3,375 |
| Piedra | 1,113 | 6,644 |
| Pimentel | 536 | 1,671 |
| Piña | 353 | 1,403 |
| Pineda | 94 | 553 |
| Pinedo | 1,081 | 5,719 |
| Pino | 983 | 3,288 |
| Piñon | 1,126 | 5,055 |
| Pintor | 1,259 | 15,380 |
| Pinzon | 914 | 9,583 |
| Pioquinto | 1,253 | 34,032 |
Mexican Names From Plascencia to Pozos
Ponce is the most common name in this section. The origins may stem from the Roman name Pontius. Some scholars link it to the Latin pontis, which means a bridge. Others link it to the Greek pontos, which means “of the sea”.
Poot is an indigenous name from the Yucatán. It is one of the most common Maya surnames still found in Mexico. It’s rare in the United States but still appears in their census. Poot means “to break open”.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Plascencia | 578 | 4,079 |
| Plata | 527 | 6,290 |
| Pliego | 832 | 19,716 |
| Polanco | 609 | 1,820 |
| Ponce | 139 | 695 |
| Poot | 451 | 50,851 |
| Popoca | 1,113 | 15,409 |
| Porras | 544 | 2,962 |
| Portilla | 880 | 19,229 |
| Portillo | 291 | 914 |
| Posadas | 827 | 9,177 |
| Pozos | 739 | 16,809 |
Mexican Names From Prado to Pulido
Puente is the most common name in this section. The meaning comes from the Spanish word for a bridge. In modern Spain, it also refers to a holiday. But early bearers of the name likely lived near structures across streams or rivers.
Puc ranks much lower at #647, but it is notable as an indigenous name that survived conquest. It means a “hill” or “anthill” in the Yucatec Maya language.
Prado is an example of a Spanish word turned into a surname. It means “meadow”.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Prado | 402 | 1,533 |
| Preciado | 567 | 2,883 |
| Priego | 976 | 33,941 |
| Prieto | 424 | 1,833 |
| Puc | 647 | 58,042 |
| Puebla | 1,203 | 13,815 |
| Puente | 381 | 2,420 |
| Puentes | 1,064 | 4,711 |
| Puga | 539 | 4,977 |
| Pulido | 394 | 1,894 |
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 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 P.
You can also use our surname ranking tool to check how a name ranked in the 2000 and 2010 U.S. censuses.
