Vázquez
A Spanish surname meaning “son of Velasco” or, more broadly, a patronymic built from a personal name beginning with Vázquez/Velasco.
The #203 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,232 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Vázquez is a Spanish patronymic surname. The ending -ez means “son of” in old Spanish naming practice, so the name originally meant “son of Vasc(o) / Velasco,” depending on the local form behind it. The first element is usually connected with the medieval personal name Velasco (also written Belasco), a name of uncertain deeper origin.
History
The surname is long established in Spain and later spread widely across Latin America through Spanish settlement and migration. It is common in the Spanish-speaking world, where it often preserves the standard patronymic spelling Vázquez, though the accent is sometimes omitted in English-language records. In the United States it is especially associated with Hispanic communities and has become one of the more common Spanish surnames nationally.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The accent mark in Vázquez is often dropped in Anglicized documents, even though the traditional Spanish spelling includes it.