Ortiz Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Surname Meaning, Origin, and Etymology
Ortiz is a surname that is part of the long list of last names that come from Spain. It is a patronymic surnames, which means is a derived form of the name of the father, in this case from Fortunio, which comes from the Latin word “fortis” that means “brave, strong” or “fortunate”. So, “Son of Fortunio” is the meaning behind Ortiz. Patronymics surnames are one of the oldest forms of surnames, actually, they began to be used in Spain around the mid-9th century and one of their features is the suffix “iz” which can be seen in Ortiz. Another feature of the patronymic surnames is that the total of carriers is not part of the same family because they only need to have a father with a certain name, in the case Fortunio, to then beginning to use the surname and then pass it to the children like any other hereditary last name.

The oldest record of a carrier of the Ortiz surname belongs to Florencio Ochoa Ortiz, who fought in the battle of the river Guadalete on the side King Don Rodrigo in 711 A.D. when Spanish people were defeated trying to defend their territory against Muslims. Years later, Christian began a military campaign to reconquest the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century, and this was how the surname Ortiz arrived at the Spanish region of Asturias and from there it extended to other regions such as Aragon, Navarra, Vizcaya and Burgos.

Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of a surname from the medieval era in Europe are nothing but common. It wasn’t rare to see that a single person had many ways to be called and this was because of typical motives that affected the languages during that era in that continent. The three main factors that influenced the languages to create spelling variations were: first, the mix of languages that happened in Europe during the middle age thanks to the collision of several cultures that were overlapping themselves in the different territories during wars. Second, the fact that the scribes used to write words according to how they heard them, so everyone could write them differently. And third, the many mistakes at the time of translating words or phrases or surnames. Thanks to all of this surnames had different forms and some of the most common spelling variations for Ortiz were: Hortiz, Fortiz, Fortes, Hortóñez, Hortoñez, Ordóñez, Ordoñez, Ortize, Ortez, Ortaz, Ortes, Ortis and others. It is important to remark the relevance of the accent mark in Spanish because its absence or presence create different words, that is why Ordoñez and Ordóñez are considered two different words.

Popularity & Geographic Distribution
As happens with others surnames that come from Spain, Ortiz is most popular in Spanish-speaking countries and it has a good popularity in the world, actually, according to the census of 2014 it is the 248th most common surname in the world and it is used by approximately by 1,909,585 people. It is most prevalent in Mexico, just like other Spanish surnames, and it has its highest density in Puerto Rico.  The country with the second amount of Ortiz is Colombia, followed by the United States in third place and Colombia in fourth.

Early Bearers of the Surname
Fortunately, there are good records of old bearers of the surname Ortiz, thanks to important actions they had. Some of them are García Ortíz, who made a donation to King Sancho IV of Navarra in 1014, Ortún Ortíz who also made a donation in 1214 to the King Alfonso IX from Castile, Pedro Ortiz who played a key role in the conquest of Sevilla in 1248, Ortum Ortiz a rich man from Aragon around 1149, there was another Ortum Ortiz who was the Major of Toledo in 1167, the Spanish writer Diego Ortiz de Zúñoga (1633-1680), Luis Ortiz a Spanish economist from the sixteenth century, Elfa Ortiz a noblewoman from Alarracin from 1227. There are also records of some spelling variations like García Ordoñez, Count of Nájera at the end of the eleventh century and Garci Ordóñez de Villamayor, a nobleman from Aragon in the twelfth century.

History, Genealogy, and Ancestry
There are many records of different families with the Ortiz surname. One of this records is about the lineage started by Lope Ortiz a Spanish man from the region of Llerena, Spain. He only had one son, Alonso Ortiz was born in Llerena in 1420 and had four children: Alonso Ortiz who was born in Llerena, Iñigo Ortiz who got married to María Ortiz, Hernando Ortiz who also was born in Llerena and had one son, Pedro Ortiz who also had one son and named him Hernando Ortiz Hidalgo who also had only one son and named him Hernando Ortiz, The las child of Alonso Ortiz father was Diego Ortiz who was born in Llerena like his brothers and played important charges in the government.

Diego Ortiz had three children, first, there was Cirstóbal Ortiz who got married to Leonor González de Cervantes and moved to Medellín, Spain. He had four children with her, Catalina Ortiz de Cervantes who was born in Medellín and got married to Fernando Rodríguez, Alonso Ortiz de Cervantes who also was born in Medellín but in 1555 moved to Chile with his cousin Marina Ortiz de Gaete. There he got married to María de Tena y Ascencio and he only had one son with her, who was Francisco Alonso Ortiz de Tena who also was born in Medellín, Spain in 1553 and grew up to get married to Luisa de Godoy, daughter of Juan Godoy and Isabel de Roa y Cárdenas.

Fransico and Luisa had seven children, María Ortiz de Tena who got married to Juan de Benavides Manrique de Lara, Teresa Ortiz de Tena y Godoy who got married to Fernando de Cea y Angulo, son of Gonzalo de Cea y Aldonsa de Angulo, Constanza Ortiz de Tena y Godoy who got married to Francisco de la Fuente Villalobos, Juan Ortiz de Tena Godoy who was born in Concepción and became a captain, he got married to Agustina de Riveros y Aguirre, daughter of Francisco de Riveros y Figueroa and Inés de Aguirre y Matienzo.

Juan and Agustina had one child, Francisco Ortiz Riberos who got married to María de Alarcón y Cortés, daughter of Fernando de Alarcón and Mencia Cortés Monroy y Tobar. Francisco and María didn’t have any children, but Francisco did have a son with Leonor Juaréz and he was Francisco Ortiz Juárez who got married twice, the first to Cecilia de Rojas y Hurtado de Mendoza and second to Felipa Niño de Zepeda Pizarro, daughter of Rafael Zepeda and Tomasa Pizarro. The daughter of Francisco Ortiz Juárez and Felipa Niño de Zepeda Pizarro was Justa Ortiz Niño de Zepeda who got married to Manuel Ignacio de Barrios.

The other children of Francisco Alonso Ortiz de Tena were: Francisco Ortiz de Tena Godoy, who died in battle against the natives from Chillán, Chile, Lorenzo Ortiz de Tena Godoy who became a Jesuit priest, Diego de Atenas (a variant of Ortiz de Tenas) who was the son of Francisco with a native woman from Chillán.

The second child of Alonso Ortiz de Cervantes was a daughter outside of his marriage, she was named Leonor Acevedo and got married twice, the first to Diego Hernández Pacheco and the second time to Diego de Aranda y Díaz de Huelva.

The other children of Cirstóbal Ortiz de Cervantes were Marina Ortiz de Cervantes and Beatriz Ortiz de Cervantes, both also arrived in Chile in 1555 with her cousin Mariana Ortiz de Gaete.

The second child of Diego Ortiz was Diego Ortiz and the third and last was Francisco Ortiz de Goete who got married to Leonor Gutierrez de Gaete, daughter of Francisco de Gaete and Leonor Sánchez de Cardenas y Mendez de Biedma. Francisco and Leonor had five children, the first one was Cirstóbal Ortiz de Gaete who got married to Catalina de Caravantes Morales. Cristóbal and Catalina had five children: María Ortíz de Caravantes who got married to Gonzalo Alonso, Cristóbal de Ortiz de Caravantes who got married to Ignacia González, Hernando Ortiz de Caravantes, Catalina de Gaete y Caravantes who got married to Gaspar de Robles Calderón and Leonor Ortiz de Gaete y Caravantes who got married to Hernando Bravo de Villalba, son of Alonso Bravo de Villalba and Teresa González de Peñafiel.

The second child of Francisco Ortiz de Gaete and Leonor Gutierrez de Gaete was Mariana Ortiz de Gaete who was born in Zalamea and got married to Pedro de Valdivia, son of Pedro Arias de Melo and Isabel Gutiérrez de Valdivia. After Mariana came the third child, Diego Nieto de Ortiz de Gaete y González, who got married twice, the first time in Spain to Luisa de Collados and the second time in Chile to Leonor de Estrada y Cervantes, daughter of Francisco Caracol y Estrada and María de Marmolejo y Fernández de Aranda. Diego had four children, María de Collados who got married to Juan de Alvarado, son of Gaspar de Alvarado, Francsica de Gaete y Estrada who got married to Luis Jufré de Loayza y Meneses Aguirre, María de Gaete who got married to Francisco de Fajardo and Francisco Ortiz de Gaete y Estrada Caracol who got married to Geracina Jufré de Loayza y Meneses Aguirre. Francisco and Geracina only had one son, Francisco Ortiz de Gaete y Jofré de Loayza (Jofré is a variant of Jufré), who got married twice, the first time to Catalina Lopez de Agurto y Escobar-Villaroel and the second time to Micaela de la Rivera.

Francisco had two children, Beatriz Ortiz de Gaete y Agurto who got married to Pedro de León and Francisco Ortiz de Gaete y Agurto who got to Mencia Gutiérrez de Mier y Arce y Fernández and with her had a son Fernando Ortiz de Gaete y Mier y Arce. Fernando got married to María Josefa de Córdova y Escobar and together they had one son Valentín Ortiz de Gaete y Fernández de Córdoba who got married to María Rosa Osorio de Toledo y de la Torre, daughter of Pedro Osorio de Toledo y Arce and Micaela de la Torre Amocaid y Carrasco de Ortega. However, Valentín also had children with three other women besides his wife, these women were: Micaela Fernández de Albuerne, Leonor Campos, and Juana Aguilar. These children were Juana Ortiz de Gaete y Osorio Toledo, Rita Josefa de Ortiz de Gaete y Osorio Toledo, Dionisia Ortiz de Gaete y Osorio Toledo, Tomás Ortiz de Gaete y Osorio Toledo, María Ortiz de Gaete y Osorio Toledo, and Fernando de Gaete y Osorio y Toledo.

The other children of Francisco Ortiz de Gaete and Leonor Gutierrez de Gaete were Catalina Ortiz de Gaete who got married to Lorenzo Suarez de Figuero, son of Diego Suárez de Figueroa and Isabel Gutiérrez de Valdivia and Leonor Gonzalez who got married to Diego Gutiérrez de Valdivia, son of Pedro Arias de Melo and Isabel Gutiérrez de Valdivia.

Early American and New World Settlers
Many Europeans have traveled to America looking for a new life for many centuries. Some of the first carriers of the surname Ortiz and do the voyage in the 16^th century were: Francisco Ortiz de Vergara, part of the crew of Alvar Nuñez who arrived in Paraguay in 1542, another Francisco Ortiz who traveled to Nicaragua in 1560, Catalina Ortiz who arrived in Guatemala in 1560, María Ortiz who landed in Honduras in 1563 and Pedro Ortiz who arrived in Chile in 1565.

During the 19^th century more Ortiz arrived in America such as Antonio Ortiz, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803, Romualdo Ortiz who also landed in Puerto Rico that same year, Isabel Ortiz who landed in America in 1811, Bernardo Ortiz who landed in America in 1812 and Cristobal Ortiz who did the same in 1813.

Mottoes
We were unable to locate any documented mottoes for the Ortiz family.

Grantees
We were unable to locate any documented grantees for the Ortiz family.

Notables
Some of the most remarkable Ortiz, some of them were Adalberto Ortiz (1914-2003) a novelist, poet, and diplomat from Ecuador, David Ortiz, a.k.a. Big Papi (b. 1975), a Dominican baseball player, Tito Ortiz (b. 1974) an American MMA fighter, Elín Ortiz (1934-2016) a Puerto Rican actor, comedian and producer, Carlos Ortiz (b. 1936) a Puerto Rican boxer who was world champion in three occasions, Álvaro Ortiz Arellano (b. 1978) a Mexican football player, Carlos Ortiz Long (b. 1962) a Puerto Rico-American health care manager in NASA and Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (b. 1980) a Cuban boxer.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) Castille, Catalogne – D’azur au lion d’or armé et lampassé de gueules à la bordure d’argent ch de huit roses de gueules. English: Azure a lion or armed and langued gules a bordure argent charged with eight roses gules.
2) Navarre, Biscaye, Castille, Andalousie – (Barons du St-Empire, 3 oct. 1790; barons autrichiens, 12 nov. 1790 et 21 mai 1819; barons bavarois, 17 fév. 1817) – Tiercé en fasce de gueules d’argent et de sable Casque couronné Cimier un chapeau piramidal aux armes de l’écu retroussé d’argent sommé d’une boule d’or supp six plumes de coq de sable Lambrequin à dextre d’argent et de gueules à senestre d’argent et de sable Supports deux lions regardants d’or. English: Tierced [tripled] fesswise gules argent and sable Crowned with a helmet Crest: a pointed hat with the arms of of the shield turned up argent surmounted by a ball or supporting six feathers of the cockerel sable Mantling: to the dexter argent and gules to the sinister argent and sable Supporters two lions reguardant or.
3) Andalousie – D’argent à un arbre de sinople acc de deux loups passants de sable enchaînés au fût l’un suivant l’autre le tout soutenu d’une terrasse isolée au naturel. English: Argent with a tree vert accompanied by two wolves passant sable chained of trunk the one following the other all supported by a mount separated from the base proper.
4) Aragon – D’or à une main de carnation en fasce parée de sinople tenant une touffe d’orties du même. English: Or with a hand carnation fesswise clothed [dressed] vert holding a tuft [clump] of nettles of the same.
5) de Zuñiga – Andalousie – (Marquis de Monte-Fuerte, 1702) – Écartelé aux 1 et 4 d’or à une étoile (5) d’azur à la bordure échiquetée d’argent et de gueules bordée à l’intérieur d’une orle d’argent chargée de huit roses de gueules (Ortiz) aux 2 et 3 d’argent à une bande de sable et une chaîne de huit chaînons oblongs du même posée en orle carrée brochant sur la bande (Zuñiga). English: Quarterly 1st and 4th or with an estoile of 5 points azure a bordure checky argent and gules fimbriated inside with an orle argent charged with eight roses gules ( for Ortiz) 2nd and 3rd argent with a bend sable and a chain of eight oblong links of the same placed in a square orle covering over the bend ( for Zuñiga).
6) Los de la casa de las ciudades de Valencia, Elche, Orihuela, Novelda y otras localidades del reino de Valencia – en campo de oro, con un brazo armado de plata y moviente del flanco siniestro, apretando con la mano un manojo de ortigas, de sinople.
7) Los Ortiz del lugar de Concabella, en la provincia de Lleida y otros de Valencia traen – En campo de oro, tres fajas, de azur.
8) Los de Castilla traen – En campo de oro, una estrella de azur; bordura de plata, con ocho rosas de gules; una segunda bordura componada de gules y plata.
9) Los de Extremadura traen – En campo de azur, un lucero de oro
10) Los de Asturias traen – En campo de azur, un león rampante, de oro; bordura de plata, con ocho rosas de gules.
11) Otros traen – En campo de gules, un león rampante de oro, acompañado a la diestra de un lucero del mismo metal
12) Los de la casa del lugar de Pilzán que entroncaron con los Eril, traen. Este escudo se encuentra, en el portal del castillo de Pilzán y en las sepulturas de su parroquia. – En campo de oro, un león rampante de gules, coronado y linguado del mismo color.
13) La casa de Pilzán modificó las armas en esta forma – Escudo cuartelado: 1º y 4º, de oro, con las tres fajas de azur, y 2º y 3º, de plata, con una banda de sable, y brochante sobre ella una cadena de azur puesta en situación de orla.
14) Otros de la casa de Pilzán las modificaron quedando: – Escudo cuartelado: 1º y 4º, en campo de oro, tres fajas de azur, y 2º y 3º, en campo de oro, una banda de sable, y brochante sobre ella una cadena de azur puesta en situación de orla.
15) Los de la casa de Barcelona que se apellidaron Ortiz-Repiso – En campo de sinople, un castillo de plata sostenido por dos leones, de oro, rampantes, afrontados y coronados del mismo metal; en el jefe, tres estrellas, de plata, puestas en situación de faja.
16) Los de los Valles de Mena y Carriedo y otros Ortiz catalanes, oriundos de Castilla y también con casa en Barcelona – En campo de azur, con un león rampante de oro, armado y linguado de gules
17) Otros Ortiz, de Tauste, Pilzán y Quinto de Ebro, en Aragón, traen – Escudo cuartelado, 1º y 4º, en campo de oro, tres fajas de gules; 2º y 3º, en campo de oro, una panela, de gules, sumada de tres flores de azucena de su color.
18) Otros Ortiz, de Pilzán, traen – En campo de oro, un rastrillo de sable.
19) Otros Ortiz, de Tauste, Pilzán, Quinto de Ebro, Calatayud, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Tarazona y San Martín del Río, en Aragón, traen las primitivas del linaje – En campo de oro, una cruz llana, de sable.
20) Otros Ortiz, radicados en Irún, traen – En campo de sinople, un castillo, de oro, asomado por su homenaje un caballero, de plata, con un estandarte en la diestra, de gules
21) Otros Ortiz, radicados en Sevilla, pasado a México y Estados Unidos, traen – En campo de oro, unas tijeras de esquilo, de azur
22) Otros Ortiz, originarios de Burgos, radicados en Asturias, pasado a Perú, traen – En campo de azur, un león rampante, de oro, surmontado de una estrella de seis puntas, del mismo metal; bordura de plata, con ocho rosas talladas, de gules
23) El Emperador D. Carlos I concedió, por privilegio dado en 8 de Junio de 1540, el siguiente escudo de armas a D. Juan Ortiz, vecino de Cuzco – En campo de gules, una torre de oro, y saliendo de su homenaje, un brazo armado, de plata, empuñando una bandera de sinople, perfilada de oro
24) Los Ortiz de las casas de Espinosa de los Monteros, Medina de Pomar, Valle de Mena, Lences, Poza de la Sal, otras de la provincia de Burgos y los de Portugal, traen. Esas mismas armas usaron otras casas de Ortiz de Castilla la Vieja, entre ellas la de Medina del Campo (Valladolid), y también las del Valle de Carriedo (Santander) y la que radicó en la villa de Gordejuela (Vizcaya). – En campo de azur, una estrella de oro; bordura de plata con ocho rosas de gules
25) Los Ortiz de la casa solar de la villa de Riaño, en la provincia de León, otros en Galicia y algunas ramas de las casas burgalesas y de la Montaña de Santander, traen – En campo de gules, una estrella de oro; bordura de plata, con ocho rosas de gules; una segunda bordura componada de gules y plata. 
26) Otros Ortiz, traen: – En campo de azur, una estrella, de oro; bordura jaquelada de plata y gules, cargando cada pieza de plata de una rosa de gules
27) Otros Ortiz, de Burgos, traen – Escudo cortado: 1º, en plata, un lobo de gules, y 2º, en oro, un árbol de sinople, terrasado de lo mismo
28) Otros Ortiz en Vizcaya, traen: – En campo de oro, un árbol de sinople, y dos lobos de sable pasantes y atravesados al pie del tronco; bordura de gules con una cadena de oro.
29) Los Ortiz del lugar de Ororbia, en Navarra, traen – Escudo cuartelado:1º y 4º, de plata, con un lobo pasante de sable, y 2º y 3º, de gules, con una flor de lis de oro.
30) Otros Ortiz, de Portugal, traen – En campo de sinople, una torre de plata con homenaje y dos lobos de sable empinados a sus muros
31) Los Ortiz de Andalucía, traen – En campo de oro, un árbol, de sinople y, apoyado a él, una escala a la diestra y una lanza a la siniestra
32) Los Ortiz de Extremadura, traen – En campo de sinople, cinco torres, de oro, almenadas y mazonadas de sable, puestas en aspa
33) Otros Ortiz, de Andalucía, traen – En campo de oro, una montaña, de sinople, cargada de una torre, de plata
34) Otros Orti, radicados en Filipinas, traen – Escacado en cinco órdenes, de plata y azur.
35) Otros Orti, radicados en Alicante, traen – Fajado de oro y gules; en abismo, brochante, una estrella de ocho puntas, de plata.
36) Otros Orti, traen – En campo de oro, tres matas, de sinople, bien ordenadas
37) Los Ortín de Cataluña, traen – En campo de gules, una estrella, de oro
38) Los Ortis, de Cataluña. traen: – Escudo cuartelado: 1º y 4º, en campo de oro, una banda de sable, y, brochante sobre el todo, una cadena de azur, puesta en orla, y 2º y 3º, en campo de oro, tres fajas de azur
39) Otros Ortín traen – En gules, una cruz, de oro, cargada de cinco cruces, de gules.
40) Radicado en Vallaldemiro y extendido a México – En oro, un martillo, de azur, encabado de plata
41) Radicado en Madrid – En plata, cinco veneras de gules, puestas en aspa.
42) Vecino de Vitores – Sobre ondas de azur y plata, un cisne de plata.
43) Radicado en Sevilla – En plata, un árbol, de sinople, sostenido por un vuelo, de azur. Bordura de gules, con ocho aspas, de oro
44) Originario de Santander y radicado en Valencia y Filipinas – En oro un árbol, de sinople y un oso, de sable, empinado al tronco. Bordura de gules, con una espada, de plata, encabada de oro, puesta en jefe.
45) Radicado en Revenga – En sinople, un guerrero, de plata, que le faltan los brazos y con la boca sostiene el asta de una bandera de gules.