Mendoza Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Mendoza last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Mendoza coat of arms for you.
Meaning and origin of the Mendoza last name
Meaning of the Mendoza last name: cold mountain. Mendoza is a Basque surname from the town of Mendoza in Álava, usually explained as mendi, "mountain", and otz, "cold". The last name became one of the great family names of Castile. Curiously, the Argentine wine city of Mendoza was named after García Hurtado de Mendoza, governor of Chile.
Arms associated with the Mendoza name
Coats of arms associated with the Mendoza surname follow Spanish heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Mendoza family history
This is only a glimpse of the Mendoza story. The full Mendoza history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Mendoza coat of arms. Get the full Mendoza report.
Mendoza name FAQ
What does the Mendoza name mean?
Cold mountain. Common variants include Mendosa.
Where does the Mendoza surname come from?
It originates in Spain, and is also found in Mexico, the Philippines and Argentina.
Is there a Mendoza coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Mendoza coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Roberto Faure, María Asunción Ribes & Antonio García, Diccionario de apellidos españoles (Espasa, 2001); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).