These are the most common Mexican last names beginning with Z, ranked by how many people in Mexico have the name today.
This letter is distinctive for having a higher ratio of indigenous Nahuatl names. I’ll point them out in their sections below, with their meanings. There is also a Maya name that translates as hummingbird.
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 Z
Let’s start with the alphabetical list of names from Zabala to Zaleta.
Nine of these names have European origins but two are Nahuatl. The early bearers of the name Zacapala likely came from the place of the same name. The meaning broadly refers to dried grass.
Zacatenco has the same root that means grass (zacatl). Tenco refers to “the edge of” or “the border. Early bearers may have lived by grassy plains.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zabala | 3,163 | 7,637 |
| Zacapala | 3,485 | 149,395 |
| Zacarias | 626 | 6,088 |
| Zacatenco | 3,762 | 95,545 |
| Zafra | 2,502 | 26,067 |
| Zagal | 1,556 | 29,064 |
| Zagoya | 3,485 | |
| Zainos | 4,098 | |
| Zalazar | 3,357 | 35,764 |
| Zaldivar | 812 | 13,721 |
| Zaleta | 1,454 | 64,054 |
Mexican Names From Zamacona to Zapotitla
Two names in this section are in the top two hundred names in Mexico. Zamora is the higher, at #126.
It’s a Spanish name, referring to people from the city of that name in northwestern Spain. The origins are pre-Roman, and the early meaning is debated. One interpretation is from the Basque word harri, which means rock. But that is not universally accepted.
Zapoteco is perhaps the most interesting name in this list, even its the rarest in this section.
The Zapotecs are one of the major indigenous peoples of Mexico. They had their own name for each other, but the Aztecs referred to them as tzapotēcatl. The meaning is “people of the land of sapodilla fruit.”
At some point during the Spanish colonial period, families were given this name as a surname.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zamacona | 2,553 | 47,272 |
| Zamarripa | 722 | 4,820 |
| Zamarron | 1,237 | 11,946 |
| Zambrano | 506 | 2,117 |
| Zamitiz | 3,357 | |
| Zamora | 126 | 540 |
| Zamorano | 752 | 8,419 |
| Zamudio | 318 | 3,174 |
| Zapata | 182 | 1,082 |
| Zapien | 1,408 | 9,818 |
| Zapote | 3,059 | 104,156 |
| Zapoteco | 3,059 | |
| Zapotitla | 3,250 |
Mexican Names From Zaragoza to Zazueta
Zavala is the most common name in this section. It is of Basque origin, with the meaning comes from the word zabal, which means wide or spacious. Early bearers may have come from plains.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zaragoza | 348 | 1,897 |
| Zarate | 145 | 1,713 |
| Zarazua | 1,269 | 17,958 |
| Zarco | 1,304 | 13,251 |
| Zarrabal | 3,762 | |
| Zarraga | 2,502 | 38,389 |
| Zarza | 1,940 | 42,640 |
| Zatarain | 1,616 | 22,201 |
| Zavala | 130 | 667 |
| Zavaleta | 571 | 10,555 |
| Zavalza | 2,665 | 26,243 |
| Zayas | 1,485 | 4,414 |
| Zazueta | 633 | 8,687 |
Mexican Names From Zea to Zenil
Two names on this list are far apart in terms of rank but have the same Nahuatl meaning.
Zempoalteca and Zempoaltecatl both translate broadly as “the person from Cempoala” (also known as Zempoala). Cempoala is a place of major historic significance. Cortés and the Spaniards landed nearby in 1519. The ruler of Cempoala became one of his early allies against the Aztecs.
The literal meaning of the name is associated with the number twenty (cempoalli). Scholars differ on whether that referred to twenty rivers or markets held every twenty days.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zea | 1,616 | 20,019 |
| Zebadua | 1,940 | |
| Zecua | 3,059 | 117,480 |
| Zeferino | 1,432 | 32,236 |
| Zempoalteca | 841 | 88,685 |
| Zempoaltecatl | 3,605 | 111,426 |
| Zendejas | 1,413 | 6,761 |
| Zenil | 2,314 | 97,671 |
Mexican Names From Zenetella to Zetina
Zepeda is the most common name in this section. This is a variant of the Spanish name Cepeda. The origins are in several places of that name such as in Salamanca and Palencia in Spain.
The meaning is debated, with some scholars pointing to the Latin cippus for a stake or stump. Others point to the Latin cepa which means a grapevine.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zentella | 3,059 | |
| Zenteno | 692 | 24,325 |
| Zepahua | 2,032 | |
| Zepeda | 266 | 1,209 |
| Zequera | 2,725 | |
| Zermeño | 1,314 | 7,478 |
| Zeron | 2,409 | 39,887 |
| Zertuche | 1,909 | 16,147 |
| Zetina | 1,022 | 21,439 |
Mexican Names From Zongua to Zuviri
Zuñiga is the most common name in this section. It is of Basque origin, associated with the town of the same name in Navarre in Spain.
Zunun is the indigenous Maya name in this section. It also has the variant Tzunun. It translates literally as a hummingbird.
| Last Name | Mexico Rank | U.S. Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Zongua | 2,922 | |
| Zorrilla | 2,458 | 15,712 |
| Zozaya | 2,725 | 46,404 |
| Zubia | 2,922 | 13,101 |
| Zubiate | 3,163 | 23,920 |
| Zul | 3,917 | 90,853 |
| Zumaya | 1,220 | 43,369 |
| Zuñiga | 164 | 600 |
| Zuno | 3,762 | 23,315 |
| Zunun | 2,409 | 61,745 |
| Zurita | 642 | 7,020 |
| Zuviri | 3,163 |
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.
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 Z.
You can also use our surname ranking tool to check how a name ranked in the 2000 and 2010 U.S. censuses.
