Okay, so I got curious about Panamanian surnames the other day. It started with a random conversation, and suddenly I was down a rabbit hole. Here’s how I dug into it:
First Steps: Simple Search
I started, like anyone would, with a simple search. I just typed in “panama surnames” and hit enter. The first few results gave me some common ones, like Rodríguez, González, and Pérez. Nothing too surprising there, it seemed pretty similar to other Spanish-speaking countries.
Getting a Bit Deeper
But I wanted more. I wanted to see if I could find a more comprehensive list, maybe even some info on origins. I started looking for websites that were specifically about Panama, or maybe genealogy sites. I skimmed through a bunch, trying to find ones that looked reliable (you know, not some random blog with two sentences on it).
Finding Some Lists
I found a couple of sites that had longer lists of surnames. I started noticing some patterns. Lots of names ending in -ez, which I remembered meant “son of” from way back in high school Spanish. I also saw a good number of names that seemed to be of Indigenous origin, which was cool. I copied these lists down into a simple text file on my computer, just to keep track.
Trying to Organize Things
- At this point, I had a messy list of names. I wanted to sort them alphabetically, just to make it easier to look through.
- I tried to group some of them based on what I thought were their origins – like, Spanish, Indigenous, maybe even some that seemed European but not Spanish. This was mostly guesswork, to be honest.
Looking for Meanings (And Failing a Bit)
I got ambitious and thought I could find the meanings of all these names. That was… harder than I thought. I found some resources for Spanish surnames, but the Indigenous ones were tough. I found some forum posts and discussions, but nothing super definitive.
What I ended up with the lists:
I have compiled the most common Panamanian surnames based on my practice and share them below:
- Rodríguez
- González
- Pérez
- Vásquez
- Castillo
- Sánchez
- Martínez
- López
- García
- Moreno.
The Takeaway
So, I didn’t become an expert on Panamanian surnames in an afternoon. But I did learn a bit, and I satisfied my curiosity. It was a fun little exploration, and it reminded me how much information is out there if you just start digging. I’m still pretty clueless about the meanings of most of the Indigenous names, but hey, maybe that’s a project for another day!
