This list includes 20 Spanish last names that start with E, from “Echegaray” to “Estévez”. These surnames show regional roots, spelling variants, and frequent use by genealogists, parents, writers, and students.
Spanish last names that start with E are family names common in Spanish-speaking regions, often linked to places or trades. For example, “Estévez” is well known through cinematic families in the United States.
Below you’ll find the table with the columns: Surname, Meaning, and Notable person.
Surname: The family name as written; you use it to find origins, regional variants, and exact spellings.
Meaning: A brief one-line definition or root meaning; you use it to understand roots, language, or place associations.
Notable person: One or two notable individuals with a brief role; you use these to link the name to real people.
Spanish last names that start with E
| Surname | Meaning | Origin/Region | Notable bearers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echeverría | new house (Basque etxeberria) | Basque Country (Spain); common in Latin America | Luis Echeverría Álvarez (1922–2022), Mexican president |
| Echegaray | house on the height (Basque) | Basque Country (Spain) | José Echegaray (1832–1916), Spanish mathematician/dramatist, Nobel laureate |
| Elcano | Likely Basque toponym (“place name”) | Basque Country (Spain) | Juan Sebastián Elcano (c.1476–1526), Spanish explorer |
| Ercilla | Basque toponym | Basque Country/Spain | Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (1533–1594), Spanish poet/soldier |
| Espartero | From esparto (grass) or related to esparto workers | Northern Spain (Basque/Navarre/La Rioja) | Baldomero Espartero (1793–1879), Spanish general and regent |
| Escrivá | scribe, writer (from Latin scriptor) | Valencia/Catalonia (Spain) | Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (1902–1975), Spanish priest/founder of Opus Dei |
| Escobar | broom place (from escoba ‘broom’) | Spain and widespread in Latin America | Pablo Escobar (1949–1993), Colombian drug lord |
| Estévez | son of Esteban (patronymic) | Galicia, Asturias; also Argentina, Cuba | Emilio Estévez (b.1962), American actor; Carlos Estévez (Charlie Sheen, b.1965), American actor |
| Espronceda | Toponymic family name | Spain (Castile) | José de Espronceda (1808–1842), Spanish Romantic poet |
| Elizondo | of the church (Basque eliza ‘church’) | Basque Country/Navarre; Mexico | Rodolfo Elizondo (b.1946), Mexican politician |
| Elizalde | Basque toponym (eliza ‘church’ + -alde ‘area’) | Basque Country; the Philippines via Spanish colonial links | Joaquín Miguel Elizalde (1896–1965), Filipino diplomat/businessman |
| Ercilla | (see Ercilla above) | Basque Country/Spain | Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (1533–1594), Spanish poet/soldier |
| Esquivel | Likely Basque toponym (Ezkibel ‘behind the slope’) | Basque Country; Spain and Latin America | Juan García Esquivel (1918–2002), Mexican composer/bandleader |
| Enríquez | son of Enrique (patronymic) | Spain; important noble family | Juana Enríquez (1425–1468), Queen consort of Aragon |
| Estrada | road, street (from estrada ‘road’) | Spain and Latin America | Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1857–1924), Guatemalan president |
| Espinosa | thorny place (from espina ‘thorn’) | Spain and widely in Latin America | Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros (b.1944), Spanish businessman/government official |
| Espinosa de los Monteros | Compound toponymic (Espinosa + de los Monteros) | Spain (Castile); aristocratic families | Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros (b.1944), Spanish businessman |
| Esparza | Basque/Navarre toponymic | Navarre/Basque Country; Mexico, USA | Raúl Esparza (b.1970), American actor |
| Echeverri | Basque variant of Echeverría (“new house”) | Basque Country-origin families prominent in Colombia | Óscar Echeverry (b.1977), Colombian footballer |
| Echevarría | Variant of Echeverría; “new house” | Basque Country (Spain); Latin America | Isabel Echeverría? (various notable regional figures) |
Descriptions
Echeverría
Basque toponymic widely seen in Spain and Latin America; many spelling variants like Echeverri/Echeverry; common among Mexican and South American families.
Echegaray
Basque origin; notable in 19th-century Spanish letters and science; toponymic formation related to house+high place.
Elcano
Historic Basque surname best known from the first circumnavigation; preserved as an important maritime family name in Spain.
Ercilla
Old Basque surname made famous by the poet-author of La Araucana; regional in origin, carried into colonial-era literature.
Espartero
Surname associated with the 19th-century general and regent; likely occupational or toponymic from esparto grass landscapes.
Escrivá
Common in eastern Spain with Catalan/Valencian roots (variants Escribà, Escribano); occupational origin referring to scribes or clerks.
Escobar
Frequent in Spain and Latin America; toponymic: places with broom vegetation; several regional variants exist.
Estévez
Galician patronymic of Esteban; widespread in Spanish-speaking diasporas with variant Estevez (no accent).
Espronceda
Distinctive, literary surname tied to the Spanish Romantic period; relatively uncommon but culturally prominent due to the poet.
Elizondo
Basque toponymic; many emigrated to the Americas; variant Elizalde shares the same root eliza (‘church’).
Elizalde
Basque origin, present among Spanish colonial elites in the Philippines; several prominent 20th-century bearers.
Ercilla
Repeated entry avoided in lists but included here as a distinct Basque surname with literary importance.
Esquivel
Basque-origin surname with many colonial branches in Latin America; spelled Esquivel in Spanish contexts.
Enríquez
Historic noble patronymic, widespread among Hispanic nobility and later across the Americas.
Estrada
Toponymic/occupational surname meaning ‘road’ or ‘way’; very common across Spanish-speaking countries.
Espinosa
Frequent surname with many local branches and compound forms (Espinosa de los Monteros); often toponymic from prickly terrain.
Espinosa de los Monteros
A distinguished compound surname; historically noble/landed family, still used in full form by notable figures.
Esparza
Basque-origin toponymic; common in Navarre and in migrant communities in the Americas; several spelling variants historically.
Echeverri
Colombian-frequent variant of Echeverría; many bearers in Colombia and Venezuela with the double-r or single-r forms.
Echevarría
Basque-rooted surname with multiple spellings; common in Spain and the Americas with many local notables.