Cartagena
A surname from the Spanish city of Cartagena, originally identifying someone who came from or was connected with that place.
The #4,184 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,465 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cartagena is a locational surname taken from the well-known Spanish port city of Cartagena. The place name goes back to Latin Carthago Nova, meaning “New Carthage,” the Roman name for the city after Carthage in North Africa. As a surname, it would originally have marked a person as being from that town or from a family associated with it.
History
The surname is found in Spanish-speaking regions and later in Hispanic communities elsewhere through migration. Because Cartagena is also a major place name in the Americas, the surname may have been reinforced by multiple local origins in different countries. In modern usage it is most often seen as a Hispanic locational surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The city of Cartagena in Spain preserves a name that ultimately means “New Carthage,” linking the surname indirectly to one of the ancient Mediterranean world’s great cities.