Funes
A Spanish surname most likely tied to the place-name Funes, especially the town in Navarre.
The #5,702 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,789 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Funes is most naturally explained as a locational surname, taken from the Spanish place-name Funes. In surname use, that typically means “someone from Funes” or “someone associated with that place.” The name is straightforwardly Spanish in form, though the deeper meaning of the place-name itself is less certain from the excerpted material.
History
The name is established in Spanish naming practice and appears among Iberian surname lists in historical scholarship. Its spread beyond Spain likely reflects normal migration from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas and elsewhere. In the United States it remains relatively uncommon compared with major Spanish surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Funes is also the name of a municipality in Navarre, Spain, which makes the surname easy to connect with a real geographic source.
From the historical record
“Francos, Frean, Freiré, Frias, Fuenmayor, Fuen- te (La), Fuentenebro, Fuentes, Fuidio, FuUeda, Funes, Gabaldon, Gainza, Galarza, Galdeano, Gal- do, Galilea, Galisteo, Gamarra, Gamboa, Garagar- za, Garay, Garibay, Garralda, Garriga, Garro, Ga- tica. Gavilanes, Gavin, Gaviria, Gaya, Gayángos, Gayoso, Gaztelu, Gea…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos