Cruz is a
surname of
Iberian origin, first found in
Castile,[citation needed] Spain, but later spread throughout the territories of the former
Spanish and
Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word means "cross", either the
Christian cross or the figure of transecting lines or ways. For example, in the
Philippines, the adopted
Tagalog word is rendered to "krus" in plain usage, but the Spanish spelling survives as a surname.
The word "Cruz" (Spanish for "Cross"), as well as "Vera Cruz" ("True Cross") and "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross") are used as surnames and toponyms. Its origin as a surname particularly flourished after the
Alhambra Decree of 1492 and the increasing activities of the
Spanish Inquisition, when New Christian families with
Crypto-Jewish,
Moorish, and/or mixed religious heritage converted to the state-enforced religion of
Catholicism and subsequently fashioned and adopted surnames with unambiguous religious affiliation.
This page lists people with the
surnameCruz. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Cruz is a
surname of
Iberian origin, first found in
Castile,[citation needed] Spain, but later spread throughout the territories of the former
Spanish and
Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word means "cross", either the
Christian cross or the figure of transecting lines or ways. For example, in the
Philippines, the adopted
Tagalog word is rendered to "krus" in plain usage, but the Spanish spelling survives as a surname.
The word "Cruz" (Spanish for "Cross"), as well as "Vera Cruz" ("True Cross") and "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross") are used as surnames and toponyms. Its origin as a surname particularly flourished after the
Alhambra Decree of 1492 and the increasing activities of the
Spanish Inquisition, when New Christian families with
Crypto-Jewish,
Moorish, and/or mixed religious heritage converted to the state-enforced religion of
Catholicism and subsequently fashioned and adopted surnames with unambiguous religious affiliation.
This page lists people with the
surnameCruz. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.