Mejía
A common Spanish surname, often linked to the old name Macías and especially widespread in the Spanish-speaking world and Latin America.
The #300 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,967 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mejía is generally understood as a Spanish surname related to the older name Macías, which itself came into Spanish through late Latin and ultimately from Hebrew Matityahu, meaning "gift of Yahweh." In medieval Iberia, names often shifted in spelling and pronunciation over time, and Mejía is one of several later surname forms that developed from that tradition. The accent mark in modern Spanish, Mejía, shows the stressed second syllable.
History
The surname is especially common in Spain and across Spanish America, where it spread widely during and after the colonial period. It is well represented in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, and other parts of Central and South America. In the United States it is a common Hispanic surname and has become familiar through immigration from Latin America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the letter í marks stress in Spanish, Mejía is pronounced with emphasis on the middle syllable: meh-HEE-ah.