Vasquez Explained
Vásquez is a surname of Galician origin, which later spread all over the Spanish-speaking world. Alternative spellings of the name include Vázquez or Vasques (particularly in regions with seseo), and Vasquez or Vazquez (in countries where Iberian languages are not commonly spoken).
Overview
To a lesser extent it also occurs in Portuguese-speaking countries (spelled Vasques), where Vasco is also used as a surname. Vasquez means "[son] of Vasco", and Vasco comes from the pre-Roman latinized name "Velascus", a name of uncertain origin and meaning, but probably Basque or Iberian. In Galician-Portuguese the pre-Roman name becomes Velascu > Veascu > Vaasco > Vasco.
In some Spanish-speaking countries, families of non-Iberian ancestry have also adopted this surname. In Colombia and Argentina, there have been instances of "Watzke" and "Watzka" families, of German-Czech descent, Hispanicizing their surnames to "Vasquez". The surname was chosen as being the one most closely resembling their former name; in Italy a similar phenomenon was noted with some "Watzke" changing to "Vasco".
There are also Spanish cognate surnames Velasco and Velázquez/Velazquez.[1]
List of people with this surname
- Andrés Vasquez (born 1987), Peruvian-born Swedish football midfielder
- Andrés Vázquez (1932–2022), Spanish bullfighter
- Andrew Vasquez, Native American flute player
- Andrew Vasquez (baseball) (born 1993), American baseball player
- Angélica Delfina Vásquez Cruz (born 1958), Mexican potter
- Angie Vázquez (born 2001), Mexican singer
- Anthony Vasquez, baseball player
- Auristela Vásquez, Venezuelan politician
- Camille Vasquez (born 1984), American lawyer known for representing Johnny Depp in the Depp vs Heard civil case
- Catalina Vasquez Villalpando (born 1940), treasurer of the United States
- Chalena Vásquez (1950–2016), Peruvian ethnomusicologist and folklorist
- Christian Vasquez (born 1977), Filipino actor and model
- Christian Vásquez (born 1984), Venezuelan conductor and violinist
- Christian Vázquez (born 1990), Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher
- Christian Vázquez (actor), Mexican actor
- Cristian Vázquez (born 1998), Argentine professional footballer
- Dolors Vázquez Aznar (1955–2014), Spanish painter
- Domingo Vásquez (1846–1909), president of Honduras 1893–1894
- Eric Vasquez (born 1982), American soccer player
- Fabio Vásquez Castaño (1940–2019), Colombian rebel and revolutionary
- Felipe Vázquez (born 1991), Venezuelan baseball player
- Fernando Vásquez (born 1962), Bolivian mining engineer
- Fernando Vázquez (born 1954), Spanish football manager
- Fran Vázquez (born 1983), Spanish basketball player
- Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish conquistador
- Franco Vázquez (born 1989), Italo-Argentine footballer
- Gabe Vasquez, New Mexico politician
- Gabriel Vásquez (1549–1604), Spanish Jesuit theologian
- Gaddi Vasquez (born 1955), 8th United States Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
- Greivis Vásquez (born 1987), Venezuelan basketball player
- Guillermo Vázquez (disambiguation), multiple people
- Horacio Vásquez (1860–1936), Dominican general and political figure
- Hugo Vázquez (born 1968), Uruguayan basketball player
- Ignacio Vázquez (footballer, born 1971), Mexican football (soccer) player
- Israel Vázquez (born 1977), Mexican boxer
- Javier Vázquez (born 1976), Puerto Rican-American baseball pitcher
- Jhonen Vasquez (born 1974), Californian cartoonist
- Jorge Vásquez (born 1978), major league baseball pitcher
- Jorge Vázquez (baseball) (born 1982), New York Yankees minor league first baseman
- Jorge Vázquez Viaña (1939–1967), Bolivian revolutionary
- Joseph Vásquez (1962–1995), American independent filmmaker
- Juan Vásquez (composer), Spanish priest and composer of the renaissance
- Juan T. Vázquez Martín (1940–2017), Cuban abstract painter
- Juanes (born 1972), full name Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (Vásquez is his second, or matrilineal, last name), Colombian rock musician
- Julio César Vásquez (born 1965), Argentine boxer in the super middleweight division
- Junior Vasquez (born 1949), New York City club DJ and remixer/producer
- La La (entertainer) (born 1979), Puerto Rican MTV VJ
- Louis Vásquez (1798–1868), mountain man and trader from Missouri
- Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón (c. 1480–1526), Spanish explorer
- Lucas Vázquez (born 1991), Spanish footballer
- Luis Vásquez (footballer) (born 1996), Colombian football goalkeeper
- Luis Vasquez (American football) (born 1986), American football player
- Manuel Vázquez Gallego (1930–1995), Spanish comic artist and writer
- Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1939–2003), Spanish writer
- Mario Vazquez (born 1977), New York Puerto Rican singer, from American Idol
- Martín Vásquez (born 1963), Mexican soccer player, also played for US team
- Mona Vasquez (1960–2011), French critic of Scientology
- Myrna Vázquez (1935–1975), Puerto Rican actress and Boston community activist
- Orlando Vásquez (weightlifter, born 1969), Nicaraguan weightlifter
- Pepe Luis Vázquez Garcés (1921–2013), Spanish bullfighter
- Pepe Luis Vázquez Silva (1957–2024), Spanish bullfighter
- Ramón Vázquez (born 1976), American baseball player
- Randy Vasquez (born 1961), American actor
- Rafael Vásquez (disambiguation), multiple people
- Rafael Martín Vázquez (born 1965), Spanish footballer
- Roberta Vasquez (born 1963), Cuban-American model, actress and Playboy playmate
- Roberto Vásquez (born 1983), southpaw boxer in the flyweight division
- Sam Vasquez (1972–2007), American MMA fighter
- Sebastián Vázquez (basketball) (born 1985), Uruguayan basketball player
- Tabaré Vázquez (1940–2020), President of Uruguay
- Tiburcio Vásquez (1835–1875), Mexican bandit
- Victor Vazquez (born 1983), better known as Kool A.D., American musician and artist
- Víctor Vázquez (artist), Puerto Rican photographer and conceptual artist
- Víctor Vázquez Rosales (born 1989), Spanish footballer
- Víctor Vázquez Solsona (born 1987), Spanish footballer
- Walter Vásquez Vejarano (born 1932), Peruvian lawyer, politician and President of the Supreme Court
- Wanda Vázquez, Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice, politician and Governor of Puerto Rico
Fictional characters
- Vasquez, a supporting character from the film Aliens
- Alexandra "Alex" Vasquez, one of the three main characters of the animated television series Totally Spies!
- Esmeralda "Ezzy" Vasquez, a character from the video game
- Jonah Vasquez, a character from the video game Dead by Daylight
- Jared Vasquez, an NYPD officer, detective and lieutenant from Manifest (TV series).
Notes and References
- Ferreiro, M. Gramática Histórica Galega, p. 84,
