Mejía is a Spanish surname dating back to the early 1500s. Its origin comes from Spanish Jews forced to convert to Catholicism also known as Marranos or Sephardic Jews. In Spain, the surname is predominantly found in Galicia and Toledo. It is also common in several Latin American countries, particularly Mexico, Honduras, and Colombia.
The first written record of the surname being used is in the marriage of a Galician man named García Sánchez de Mejías to the daughter of Juan Sánchez de Mendoza, brother of Don Lope de Mendoza, Archbishop of Compostela.[3]
The surname may have originated as a toponym for the towns of either Mesía or Muxía in Galicia.[4][5]
According to "El Blasonario de la Consanguinidad Ibérica" (The Armorial of the Iberian Consanguinity) by genealogists Ampelio Alonso de Cadenas and Don Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent, Mejia is described as having been brought to Galicia and León by Sevillians who escaped to the mountainous northern provinces amidst the Moorish invasions of southern Spain, Prior to this, the bearers of the name had lived in Seville since Visigoth and Roman times. After the Reconquista, some returned to Seville.[6]
Another common theory is that the name may have Sephardic origins, from when the Spanish Kingdom forced Jewish settlers to change their surname to Castillian. The basis for this theory is that the literal translation of the word for "Messiah" is "Mesía".[7] However, others have argued that the name could have simply been assigned at baptism by a priest who chose to use a biblical word, rather than as a result of translation.[8] In addition, Spaniards with any Jewish or Muslim ancestry were not allowed to emigrate to the New World colonies, and so this theory might not account for the extensive popularity of the surname in Latin America today.
Finally, it is theorized that the word "Mexia" used to mean "medicine" in an old variant of Spanish.[citation needed]
Note that Mexía is the older Spanish spelling of the name. In the modern orthography of Spain, the spelling is Mejía, though in Mexico the older orthography is still considered correct. Similarly, until recently Spaniards rendered the country name Méjico rather than México, though this has reversed in recent decades out of deference to Mexico.
The surname is a popular last name in Colombia, especially its Paisa region. According to the book "Genealogies of Antioquia and Caldas" by Gabriel Arango Mejía, the first Spaniard to bring the name to Colombia was a man named Don Juan Mejía de Tobar Montoya.[10]
^"Mejia Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". January 2000.
^Ampelio Alonso de Cadenas, Don Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent (1979). El Blasonario de la Consanguinidad Ibérica. Ediciones Hidalguia. ISBN9788400044039.
^"Apellidos Sefarditas | PDF | Asuntos multirraciales | Superpoderes".
^Mejia, Vincente. "Re: Mejia as a Sephardic name". Genealogy.com.
^Gabriel Arango Mejía (1973). Genealogícas de Antioquía y Caldas: 3. ed. Bedout.
This page lists people with the surnameMejía. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
April 14, 2024
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For other uses see Mejia disambiguation Mejia is a Spanish surname dating back to the early 1500s Its origin comes from Spanish Jews forced to convert to Catholicism also known as Marranos or Sephardic Jews In Spain the surname is predominantly found in Galicia and Toledo It is also common in several Latin American countries particularly Mexico Honduras and Colombia MejiaOriginWord nameSpanishMeaningpossibly from the word mesia meaning messiah 1 2 Other namesVariant form s Mejias Megia Megias Mexia Mexia Mexias Contents 1 Etymology 2 Geographical distribution 2 1 Popularity in Colombia 3 People 3 1 Mejia Mejia 3 2 Mejias Mejias 3 3 Mexia Mexia 4 ReferencesEtymology editThe first written record of the surname being used is in the marriage of a Galician man named Garcia Sanchez de Mejias to the daughter of Juan Sanchez de Mendoza brother of Don Lope de Mendoza Archbishop of Compostela 3 The surname may have originated as a toponym for the towns of either Mesia or Muxia in Galicia 4 5 According to El Blasonario de la Consanguinidad Iberica The Armorial of the Iberian Consanguinity by genealogists Ampelio Alonso de Cadenas and Don Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent Mejia is described as having been brought to Galicia and Leon by Sevillians who escaped to the mountainous northern provinces amidst the Moorish invasions of southern Spain Prior to this the bearers of the name had lived in Seville since Visigoth and Roman times After the Reconquista some returned to Seville 6 Another common theory is that the name may have Sephardic origins from when the Spanish Kingdom forced Jewish settlers to change their surname to Castillian The basis for this theory is that the literal translation of the word for Messiah is Mesia 7 However others have argued that the name could have simply been assigned at baptism by a priest who chose to use a biblical word rather than as a result of translation 8 In addition Spaniards with any Jewish or Muslim ancestry were not allowed to emigrate to the New World colonies and so this theory might not account for the extensive popularity of the surname in Latin America today Finally it is theorized that the word Mexia used to mean medicine in an old variant of Spanish citation needed Note that Mexia is the older Spanish spelling of the name In the modern orthography of Spain the spelling is Mejia though in Mexico the older orthography is still considered correct Similarly until recently Spaniards rendered the country name Mejico rather than Mexico though this has reversed in recent decades out of deference to Mexico Geographical distribution editAs of 2014 23 7 of all known bearers of the surname Mejia were residents of Mexico frequency 1 450 16 2 of Colombia 1 253 14 4 of Honduras 1 53 8 0 of Guatemala 1 172 6 5 of the Dominican Republic 1 138 6 3 of the United States 1 4 915 6 3 of El Salvador 1 86 4 7 of Peru 1 583 2 9 of Ecuador 1 475 2 8 of Nicaragua 1 185 2 5 of the Philippines 1 3 461 2 0 of Venezuela 1 1 266 and 1 8 of Bolivia 1 510 In Spain the frequency of the surname was higher than national average 1 5 678 in the following autonomous communities 1 Community of Madrid 1 2 644 2 Castilla La Mancha 1 3 787 3 Catalonia 1 4 083 4 Navarre 1 5 176 5 Balearic Islands 1 5 189 6 La Rioja 1 5 296 In Honduras the frequency of the surname was higher than national average 1 53 in the following departments 9 1 Ocotepeque Department 1 19 2 Copan Department 1 31 3 La Paz Department 1 32 4 Santa Barbara Department 1 40 5 Comayagua Department 1 40 6 Cortes Department 1 43 7 Lempira Department 1 44 8 Colon Department 1 49 9 Atlantida Department 1 50 10 Yoro Department 1 52 Popularity in Colombia edit The surname is a popular last name in Colombia especially its Paisa region According to the book Genealogies of Antioquia and Caldas by Gabriel Arango Mejia the first Spaniard to bring the name to Colombia was a man named Don Juan Mejia de Tobar Montoya 10 People editMejia Mejia edit Alejandro Mejia born 1993 Dominican baseball player Alexander Mejia born 1988 Colombian midfielder footballer Alfonso Mejia Arias born 1961 Mexican musician writer social activist and politician of Roma origin Gitano Alfredo Mejia born 1990 Honduran footballer Alvaro Mejia athlete 1940 2021 Colombian long distance runner Alvaro Mejia cyclist born 1967 Colombian bicycle racer Alvaro Mejia Perez born 1982 Spanish football defender Aristides Mejia born 1960 Honduran politician Vice President Commissioner of Honduras Arturo Salazar Mejia 1921 2009 Roman Catholic bishop of Pasto Colombia Camilo Mejia born 1975 U S Nicaraguan war activist Carlos Will Mejia born 1983 Honduran football midfielder Christian Mejia born 1989 Puerto Rican football goalie Cindy Mejia born 1988 Peruvian model and beauty pageant titleholder Clemente Mejia 1928 1978 Mexican olympic swimmer Cristian Mejia born 1990 Colombian football striker Diego Mejia Salvadoran footballer born 1982 Salvadoran football forward Dionisio Mejia 1907 1963 Mexican football forward Edgar Mejia born 1988 Mexican footballer Erick Mejia born 1994 Dominican baseball player Ernesto Mejia born 1985 Venezuelan professional baseball player Felix Mejia 1776 1853 Spanish journalist novelist playwright and historian Felix Restrepo Mejia 1887 1965 Jesuit priest writer pedagogue classical scholar and humanist from Colombia Fabrizio Mejia born 1968 Mexican writer and journalist Francisco Mejia born 1995 Dominican baseball player Gerardo Mejia born 1965 Ecuadorian American Latin style rapper singer and record company executive Gilberto Echeverri Mejia 1936 2003 Colombian electrical engineer politician and kidnap victim Hermann Mejia born 1973 Venezuelan born illustrator and painter Hipolito Mejia born 1941 President of the Dominican Republic J C Mejia born 1996 Dominican baseball player Jenrry Mejia born 1989 Dominican baseball player Joel Mejia born 1990 Dominican olympic sprinter Jorge Maria Mejia 1923 2014 Argentine Roman Catholic cardinal Juan Camilo Mejia born 1981 Colombian soccer player Kenneth Mejia born 1990 American politician Leon Mejia born 1934 Colombian cyclist Luis Mejia born 1991 Panamanian footballer plays goalie Liborio Mejia 1792 1816 Colombian independence war leader politician Marco Mejia born 1975 Honduran football midfielder Maria Emma Mejia born 1953 Colombian journalist and politician Maria Isabel Mejia born 1945 Colombian politician and economist Mariano Diaz Mejia born 1993 Dominican footballer Matias Ramos Mejia 1810 1885 Argentine colonel Miguel Aceves Mejia 1915 2006 Mexican composer actor and singer Natalie Mejia born 1988 Mexican American musician oscar Mejia born 1978 Dominican footballer oscar Humberto Mejia Victores 1930 2016 Guatemalan president Pedro Mejia athlete born 1978 Dominican olympic sprinter Pedro Mexia 1497 1551 Spanish writer humanist and historian Ricardo Mejia born 1963 Mexican long distance runner Roberto Mejia born 1972 Dominican Republic baseball player Roger Mejia born 1984 Nicaraguan footballer Sammy Mejia born 1983 Dominican American basketball player Sandra Llano Mejia born 1951 Colombian multimedia artist video artist Tatan Mejia born 1985 Colombian freestyle motocross rider Tenoch Huerta Mejia Mexican film actor Tomas Mejia 1820 1867 Mexican general executed for treason Vicente Mejia Colindres 1878 1966 President of the Republic of Honduras Mejias Mejias edit Javier Mejias born 1983 Spanish bicycle racer Octavio Mejias born 1982 Venezuelan weightlifter Roman Mejias 1925 2023 Dominican American baseball player outfielder Sam Mejias born 1952 Dominican American baseball player outfielder Tomas Mejias born 1989 Spanish football player Wolfgang Mejias born 1983 Venezuelan olympic epee fencer Yasmin Mejias a Puerto Rican actress comedian singer and politicianMexia Mexia edit Alvaro Mexia a 17th century Spanish explorer and cartographer of the east coast of Florida Jose Antonio Mexia 1800 1839 Mexican politician Pedro Mexia a 16th century Spanish Renaissance writer humanist and historian Ynes Mexia 1870 1938 Mexican American botanist and explorerReferences edit Mejia Coat of Arms Mejia Family Crest http www ancestry com facts Mejia family history ashx user generated source Mejia Blasonari Mejia surname Mejia Name Meaning Family History Family Crest amp Coats of Arms January 2000 Ampelio Alonso de Cadenas Don Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent 1979 El Blasonario de la Consanguinidad Iberica Ediciones Hidalguia ISBN 9788400044039 Apellidos Sefarditas PDF Asuntos multirraciales Superpoderes Mejia Vincente Re Mejia as a Sephardic name Genealogy com Mejia surname distribution Gabriel Arango Mejia 1973 Genealogicas de Antioquia y Caldas 3 ed Bedout nbsp This page lists people with the surname Mejia If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page you may wish to change that link by adding the person s given name s to the link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mejia surname amp oldid 1217539931, wikipedia, wiki, book, 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