Vasquez

This article is about the name. For the musical group, see Vásquez (band). For the Cuban village, see Vázquez (Puerto Padre).

Vázquez is a surname of Galician origin, which later spread all over the Spanish-speaking world. Alternative spellings of the name include Vásquez or Vasques, and Vazquez or Vasquez in countries where Iberian languages are not commonly spoken.

Overview

To a lesser extent it also occurs in Portuguese-speaking countries (spelled Vasques), where Vasco is also used as a surname. Vasquez means "[son] of Vasco", and Vasco comes from the pre-Roman latinized name "Velascus", a name of uncertain origin and meaning, but probably Basque or Iberian. In Galician-Portuguese the pre-Roman name becomes Velascu > Veascu > Vaasco > Vasco.

In some Spanish-speaking countries, families of non-Iberian ancestry have also adopted this surname. In Colombia and Argentina, there have been instances of "Watzke" and "Watzka" families, of German-Czech descent, Hispanicizing their surnames to "Vasquez". The surname was chosen as being the one most closely resembling their former name; in Italy a similar phenomenon was noted with some "Watzke" changing to "Vasco".

There are also Spanish cognate surnames Velasco and Velázquez/Velazquez.

List of people with this surname

• Andrés Vasquez (born 1987), Peruvian-born Swedish football midfielder
• Andrew Vasquez, Native American flute player
• Andrew Vasquez (baseball) (born 1993), American baseball player
• Angélica Delfina Vásquez Cruz (born 1958), Mexican potter
• Angie Vázquez (born 2001), Mexican singer
• Anthony Vasquez, baseball player
• Auristela Vásquez, Venezuelan politician
• Camille Vasquez (born 1984), American lawyer known for representing Johnny Depp in the Depp vs Heard civil case
• Catalina Vasquez Villalpando (born 1940), treasurer of the United States
• Chalena Vásquez (1950–2016), Peruvian ethnomusicologist and folklorist
• Christian Vasquez (born 1977), Filipino actor and model
• Christian Vásquez (born 1984), Venezuelan conductor and violinist
• Christian Vázquez (born 1990), Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher
• Christian Vázquez (actor), Mexican actor
• Cristian Vázquez (born 1998), Argentine professional footballer
• Dolors Vázquez Aznar (1955–2014), Spanish painter
• Domingo Vásquez (1846–1909), president of Honduras 1893–1894
• Eric Vasquez (born 1982), American soccer player
• Fabio Vásquez Castaño (1940–2019), Colombian rebel and revolutionary
• Fernando Vásquez (born 1962), Bolivian mining engineer
• Fernando Vázquez (born 1954), Spanish football manager
• Fran Vázquez (born 1983), Spanish basketball player
• Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish conquistador
• Franco Vázquez (born 1989), Italo-Argentine footballer
• Gabe Vasquez, New Mexico politician
• Gabriel Vásquez (1549–1604), Spanish Jesuit theologian
• Gaddi Vasquez (born 1955), 8th United States Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
• Greivis Vásquez (born 1987), Venezuelan basketball player
• Guillermo Vázquez (born 1967), Mexican footballer and manager
• Guillermo Vázquez (chess player) (born 1997), Paraguayan chess player
• Horacio Vásquez (1860–1936), Dominican general and political figure
• Hugo Vázquez (born 1968), Uruguayan basketball player
• Ignacio Vázquez (footballer, born 1971), Mexican football (soccer) player
• Israel Vázquez (born 1977), Mexican boxer
• Javier Vázquez (born 1976), Puerto Rican-American baseball pitcher
• Jhonen Vasquez (born 1974), Californian cartoonist
• Jorge Vásquez (born 1978), major league baseball pitcher
• Jorge Vázquez (baseball) (born 1982), New York Yankees minor league first baseman
• Jorge Vázquez Viaña (1939–1967), Bolivian revolutionary
• Joseph Vásquez (1962–1995), American independent filmmaker
• Juan Vásquez (composer), Spanish priest and composer of the renaissance
• Juan T. Vázquez Martín (1940–2017), Cuban abstract painter
• Juanes (born 1972), full name Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (Vásquez is his second, or matrilineal, last name), Colombian rock musician
• Julio César Vásquez (born 1965), Argentine boxer in the super middleweight division
• Junior Vasquez (born 1949), New York City club DJ and remixer/producer
• La La (entertainer) (born 1979), Puerto Rican MTV VJ
• Louis Vásquez (1798–1868), mountain man and trader from Missouri
• Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón (c. 1480–1526), Spanish explorer
• Lucas Vázquez (born 1991), Spanish footballer
• Luis Vásquez (footballer) (born 1996), Colombian football goalkeeper
• Luis Vasquez (American football) (born 1986), American football player
• Manuel Vázquez Gallego (1930–1995), Spanish comic artist and writer
• Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1939–2003), Spanish writer
• Mario Vazquez (born 1977), New York Puerto Rican singer, from American Idol
• Martín Vásquez (born 1963), Mexican soccer player, also played for US team
• Mona Vasquez (1960–2011), French critic of Scientology
• Myrna Vázquez (1935–1975), Puerto Rican actress and Boston community activist
• Orlando Vásquez (weightlifter, born 1969), Nicaraguan weightlifter
• Ramón Vázquez (born 1976), American baseball player
• Randy Vasquez (born 1961), American actor
• Rafael Vásquez (disambiguation), multiple people
• Rafael Martín Vázquez (born 1965), Spanish footballer
• Roberta Vasquez (born 1963), Cuban-American model, actress and Playboy playmate
• Roberto Vásquez (born 1983), southpaw boxer in the flyweight division
• Sam Vasquez (1972–2007), American MMA fighter
• Sebastián Vázquez (basketball) (born 1985), Uruguayan basketball player
• Tabaré Vázquez (1940–2020), President of Uruguay
• Tiburcio Vásquez (1835–1875), Mexican bandit
• Victor Vazquez (born 1983), better known as Kool A.D., American musician and artist
• Víctor Vázquez (artist), Puerto Rican photographer and conceptual artist
• Víctor Vázquez Rosales (born 1989), Spanish footballer
• Víctor Vázquez Solsona (born 1987), Spanish footballer
• Walter Vásquez Vejarano (born 1932), Peruvian lawyer, politician and President of the Supreme Court
• Wanda Vázquez, Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice, politician and Governor of Puerto Rico

Fictional characters

• Vasquez, a supporting character from the film Aliens
• Alexandra "Alex" Vasquez, one of the three main characters of the animated television series Totally Spies!
• Esmeralda "Ezzy" Vasquez, a character from the video game Real Heroes: Firefighter
• Jonah Vasquez, a character from the video game Dead by Daylight
• Jared Vasquez, an NYPD officer, detective and lieutenant from Manifest (TV series).