View source for Díaz (surname)

{{Other uses|Diaz (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox surname
| name = Díaz
| image =
| caption = <small>Díaz</small>
| meaning = "Son of [[Diego]]"
| region = Kingdom of [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], in [[Spain]]
| pronunciation = {{IPA|es|ˈdiaθ|lang}}, in Latin America: {{IPA|es|ˈdias|}}
| variant = Diaz (anglicized), [[Dias (surname)|Dias]] (Portuguese variant)
}}

'''Díaz''' is a common surname of [[Spanish language|Spanish]] origin with multiple meanings in multiple languages. First found in the Kingdom of [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], where the name originated in the [[Visigoths|Visigoth]] period, the name accounts for about 0.17% of the Spanish population, ranking as the 14th-most frequently found surname in both 1999 and 2004.<ref>Mateos & Tucker 2008, OcioTotal 1999</ref>

==Variants and related names==
There is minor evidence that Díez may be equivalent to Díaz, in the form of [[Spanish language]] listing of most frequent surnames in 1999 Spain.<ref>OcioTotal 1999.</ref> However, a 2008 in-press academic manuscript about Spanish naming in 2004 suggests otherwise, listing statistics for "Díaz" and "Díez" separately.<ref>Mateos & Tucker 2008.</ref><ref>''Díaz'' as being derived from a Gothic form of the paternal [[genitive case|genitive]] of [[Dia (disambiguation)|Dia]], as in "Dia's child", or Diag, [[Diago]] or Diego (Dixon 1857).</ref> The surname is a cognate with the [[Portuguese language]] surname ''Dias''.

==Usage==
''Díaz'' and the anglicized form ''Diaz'' appear to be surnames only, without evidence for use as given names.  Use of ''Diaz'' may arise through [[Anglicization]] of Portuguese language ''[[Dias (surname)|Dias]]''.

Many examples of the surnames ''Díaz'' exist among historically notable people as a [[patronymic]] of Diego.  Among the earliest such examples is [[El Cid]], whose real name was ''Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar'', and whose father's given name was ''Diego''.<ref>1913 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=December 2020}}

==Geographical distribution==
As of 2014, 21.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Díaz'' were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:132), 11.4% of Colombia (1:96), 9.1% of Argentina (1:108), 8.0% of Spain (1:134), 7.2% of Venezuela (1:96), 6.7% of the United States (1:1,242), 5.2% of Peru (1:142), 5.0% of Cuba (1:53), 4.6% of Chile (1:87), 3.1% of the Philippines (1:742), 2.9% of the Dominican Republic (1:83), 2.5% of Puerto Rico (1:33), 2.4% of Guatemala (1:155), 2.0% of Honduras (1:100), 1.4% of El Salvador (1:107), 1.3% of Nicaragua (1:103), 1.2% of Ecuador (1:293) and 1.0% of Paraguay (1:161).

In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than the national average (1:134) in the following autonomous communities:
* 1. [[Canary Islands]] (1:53)
* 2. [[Asturias]] (1:54)
* 3. [[Extremadura]] (1:85)
* 4. [[Cantabria]] (1:89)
* 5. [[Castilla-La Mancha]] (1:97)
* 6. [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] (1:112)
* 7. [[Andalusia]] (1:114)
* 8. [[Community of Madrid]] (1:121)

In [[Puerto Rico]], the frequency of the surname was higher than the national average (1:33) in the following municipalities:<ref name="diaz2014">[https://forebears.io/surnames/diaz Díaz surname distribution]</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* 1. [[Manatí, Puerto Rico|Manatí]] (1:14)
* 2. [[Peñuelas, Puerto Rico|Peñuelas]] (1:16)
* 3. [[Arecibo, Puerto Rico|Arecibo]] (1:16)
* 4. [[Morovis, Puerto Rico|Morovis]] (1:16)
* 5. [[Yauco, Puerto Rico|Yauco]] (1:17)
* 6. [[Barceloneta, Puerto Rico|Barceloneta]] (1:17)
* 7. [[Guayanilla, Puerto Rico|Guayanilla]] (1:17)
* 8. [[Florida, Puerto Rico|Florida]] (1:17)
* 9. [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] (1:19)
* 10. [[Hatillo, Puerto Rico|Hatillo]] (1:19)
* 11. [[Isabela, Puerto Rico|Isabela]] (1:19)
* 12. [[Utuado, Puerto Rico|Utuado]] (1:20)
* 13. [[Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico|Cabo Rojo]] (1:20)
* 14. [[Ciales, Puerto Rico|Ciales]] (1:21)
* 15. [[Lares, Puerto Rico|Lares]] (1:21)
* 16. [[Naranjito, Puerto Rico|Naranjito]] (1:21)
* 17. [[Camuy, Puerto Rico|Camuy]] (1:22)
* 18. [[Quebradillas, Puerto Rico|Quebradillas]] (1:22)
* 19. [[Rincón, Puerto Rico|Rincón]] (1:22)
* 20. [[Canóvanas, Puerto Rico|Canóvanas]] (1:22)
* 21. [[Aguadilla, Puerto Rico|Aguadilla]] (1:23)
* 22. [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] (1:23)
* 23. [[Loíza, Puerto Rico|Loíza]] (1:24)
* 24. [[Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico|Juana Díaz]] (1:25)
* 25. [[Río Grande, Puerto Rico|Río Grande]] (1:25)
* 26. [[Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico|Trujillo Alto]] (1:28)
{{Div col end}}

The following matrix contains available information on the frequency of this surname in various countries across a span of years.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Country!!1880–1889!!1960–1969!!1990–1999!!2000–2009
|-
|Australia|| || || ||2002: 0.008% (rank ?)(c)
|-
|New Zealand|| || || ||2002: 0.002% (rank ?)(c)
|-
|Spain|| || ||1999: 0.74% (rank 14)(a)||2004: na% (rank 14)(b)
|-
|United Kingdom||1881: na% (rank 23,037)(c)|| ||1998: 0.001% (rank 10,773)(c)||
|-
|United States|| ||1964: 0.047% (rank 335)<ref>Rank 16 among Hispanic-Americans (De Platt 1996, pages 15–16)</ref> ||1990: 0.084% (rank 99)(d)<br>1990: 0.014% (rank ?)(c)||2000: 0.18% (rank 73)(d)
|}
<!-- based on notable biographies, at least the following countries should be added to this table if possible: Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Philippines -->

Reference codes, see [[#References]]: (a)=OcioTotal 1999, (b)=Mateos & Tucker 2008, (c)=Longley, ''et al.'', (d)=United States Census Bureau 1995, (e)=United States Census Bureau 2000

==Notable people==
===Arts and entertainment===
* [[Alirio Díaz]] (1923–2016), Venezuelan guitarist
* [[Álvaro Díaz González]] (born 1972), Chilean screenwriter, producer and director
* [[Alyssa Diaz]] (born 1985), American-Colombian actress
* [[Ana Diaz (Swedish singer)]]
* [[Ana Díaz (Mexican singer)]] (born 1972)
* [[Diaz (musician)|Andres Rafael Diaz Rosa]] (born 1976), Spanish/Norwegian rapper "Diaz"
* [[Cameron Diaz]] (born 1972), American actress, producer, and former fashion model
* [[Carla Diaz]], Brazilian actress
* [[Carla Díaz]], Spanish actress and dancer
* [[Carolina del Castillo Díaz]] (1867–1933), Spanish painter
* [[César Díaz (guitarist)]] (1951–2002), Puerto Rican guitar amplifier technician and guitarist
* [[Dilia Díaz Cisneros]] (1925–2017), Venezuelan teacher and poet
* [[Diomedes Díaz]] (1957–2013), Colombian singer, singer, songwriter and composer
* [[Elisa Ruiz Díaz]] (1964–2021), Paraguayan diplomat
* [[Francine Diaz]] (born 2004), Filipina actress and model
* [[Gloria Diaz]] (born 1951), Filipina actress, TV host and beauty queen, first Filipina to win Miss Universe
* [[Gregoria Díaz]] (1964-2023), Venezuelan journalist.
* [[Hernan Diaz (writer)|Hernan Diaz]] (born 1973), writer and academic
* [[Joey Diaz]] (born 1963), Cuban-American stand-up comedian, actor, podcast host
* [[Johnny Diaz]], American novelist and a journalist
* [[Joko Diaz]], Filipino actor and action star
* [[Jonny Diaz]] (born 1984), American contemporary Christian musician
* [[Joselo|José Manuel Díaz]] (1936–2013), Venezuelan actor and comedian in television and film known by the mononym Joselo
* [[José María Díaz]] (1813–1888), Spanish romanticist playwright and journalist
* [[Julio Díaz (disambiguation)]], several people
* [[Junot Díaz]] (born 1986), American writer
* [[Lav Diaz]] or Lavrente Indico Diaz (born 1958), Filipino independent filmmaker
* [[Leandro Díaz (composer)]] (1928–2013), Colombian composer
* [[Mariano Díaz (photographer)|Mariano Díaz]] (born 1929), Venezuelan photographer
* [[Narcisse Virgilio Díaz]] de la Peña (1807–1876), French painter of the Barbizon school
* [[Paquito Diaz]] (1937–2011), Filipino actor and director; father of Joko Diaz
* [[Patrocinio Díaz]] (1905-1969), Argentine singer and actress
* [[MISSPSTAR|Priscilla Diaz (MISSPSTAR/P-Star)]] (born 1994), American rapper, singer and actress 
* [[Rafael Díaz Ycaza]] (1925–2013), Ecuadorian poet and writer
* [[Pumpkinhead (rapper)|Robert Alan Diaz]] (1975–2015), American rapper better known as "Pumpkinhead"
* [[Rocsi Diaz]] (born 1983), Honduran-born, American television personality and model
* [[Romy Diaz]] (1941–2005), Filipino actor
* [[Roxana Díaz Burgos|Roxana Díaz]] (born 1972), Venezuelan television actress
* [[Simón Díaz]] (1928–2014), Venezuelan singer and composer
* [[Sixto Diaz Rodriguez]] (1942–2023), Mexican-American singer-songwriter
* [[Ulpiano Díaz]] (1900–1990), Cuban percussionist
* [[Waldo Díaz-Balart]] (1931–2025), Cuban-born painter and sculptor
* [[Zadi Diaz]], American podcaster and video blogger

===Politics and military===
*[[Adam Perez Diaz]] (1909–2010), the first Hispanic elected to the Phoenix City Council in Arizona and also the first Hispanic to serve as Phoenix's Vice-Mayor
*[[Antoni Gutiérrez Díaz]] (1929–2006), Catalan (Spain)  physician and politician
*[[Armando Diaz]] (1861–1928), Italian General and a Marshal of Italy during World War I  (1914-1918)
*[[Domingo Díaz Arosemena]] (1875–1949), Panamanian politician, president from 1948 to 1949
*[[Edwige Diaz]] (born 1987), French politician
*[[Elimar Díaz]] (born 1989), Venezuelan politician 
*[[Héctor A. Díaz]], American politician in Connecticut 
*[[Joaquín Díaz de Vivar]] (1907 – 2002), Argentine lawyer and politician, also a descendant of El Cid (Rodrigo de Diaz Vivar, 1043-1099)
*[[José Díaz (Spanish politician)|José Díaz]], (1895-1942), Spanish Communist and trade unionist, involved in the Spanish Civil War. 1936-1939
*[[José E. Díaz]] (1833–1867), Paraguayan general, hero of the Paraguayan War
*[[Pedro Díaz de Vivar y González de Buendía|Pedro Díaz de Vivar]] (1740–1820), Royal Spanish soldier and official,  also a descendant of El Cid (Rodrigo de Diaz Vivar, 1043-1099)
*[[Porfirio Díaz]] (1830–1915), Mexican soldier, politician, dictator who served seven terms as President of Mexico in late 19th and early 20th century, following the Imperial French (by Emperor Napoleon III) intervention in Mexico with Emperor Maximilian, 1863-1866
*[[Ramón Díaz (economist)|Ramón Díaz]] (1926–2017), Uruguayan lawyer, economist and journalist, Chairman of the Central Bank
*[[Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar]] (c. 1043–1099), better known as El Cid, or Rodrigo, Castilian (Spain ) nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain

===Sports===
* [[Aledmys Díaz]] (born 1990), Cuban professional baseball player, who also played for four franchises / teams in the American Major Leagues 
* [[Alexis Díaz (baseball)]] (born 1996), Puerto Rican professional baseball player, who plays for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League in  Major League Baseball in the United States 
* [[Ana Díaz (volleyball)|Ana Díaz]] (born 1954), Cuban volleyball player
* [[Andrés Díaz (Chilean footballer)]] (born 1995)
* [[Andrés Díaz (Argentine footballer)]] (born 1983)
* [[Andrés Manuel Díaz]], Spanish runner (born 1969)
* [[Antonio Díaz Jurado]] (1969–2013), Spanish footballer
* [[Brahim Díaz]] (born 1999), Spanish footballer
* [[Cata Díaz]], Argentine footballer and manager
* [[David Díaz (boxer)]], (born 1976)
* [[David Díaz (basketball)]] of Venezuela (born 1964)
* [[Diomar Díaz]] (born 1990), Venezuelan footballer
* [[Edwin Díaz]] (born 1994), Puerto Rican and American professional baseball player, formerly with the Seattle Mariners of the American League in Major League Baseball, currently with the franchise / team of the New York Mets in the National League 
* [[Elías Díaz]] (born 1990), Venezuelan baseball player
* [[Érick Díaz]] (born 2006), Panamanian footballer
* [[Hernán Díaz]], Argentine footballer (born 1965)
* [[Hidilyn Diaz]] (born 1991), Filipino weightlifter and Olympic Champion
* [[Horacio Díaz Luco]] (1943–2025), Chilean footballer
* [[Hugo Díaz (disambiguation)|Hugo Díaz]], multiple people
* [[Isidoro Díaz]] (born 1938), Mexican footballer
* [[Jhonathan Díaz]] (born 1996), Venezuelan baseball player
* [[Joaquin Carlos Diaz]] (1948–2015), Cuban chess master
* [[Jordan Díaz (baseball)]] (born 2000), Colombian baseball player
* [[Joselo Díaz]] (born 1980), Dominican and former American professional Major League Baseball player (pitcher) with several franchises / teams plus Minor League Baseball, later with Nippon (Japanese) professional baseball team 
* [[Juan Díaz Sánchez]] (1948–2013), Spanish footballer known as Juanito
* [[Lewin Díaz]] (born 1996), Dominican baseball player
* [[Linus Diaz]] (born 1933), Sri Lankan long-distance runner
* [[Luis Díaz (disambiguation)]], several people
* [[Matt Diaz]] (born 1978), American professional Major League baseball player with five successive franchises / teams and later sportscaster / commentator 
* [[Miguel Díaz (baseball)]] (born 1994), Dominican baseball player
* [[Nate Diaz]] (born 1985), American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter
* [[Nick Diaz]] (born 1983), American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter
* [[Patricia Díaz Perea]] (born 1984), Spanish professional triathlete
* [[Raquel Diaz]] (born 1990), ring name of American professional wrestler and burlesque dancer Shaul Guerrero
* [[Rubén Toribio Díaz]] (born 1952), Peruvian footballer
* [[Salvador Diaz]] (born 1933), Venezuelan chess master
* [[Tony Diaz]] (born 1977), Dominican baseball coach
* [[Víctor Díaz (basketball)]] (born 1968), Venezuelan basketball player
* [[Yainer Díaz]] (born 1998), Dominican baseball player
* [[Yandy Díaz]] (born 1991), Cuban professional baseball player
* [[Yennsy Díaz]] (born 1996), Dominican Republic professional baseball player
* [[Yofrec Diaz]] (born 1999), Venezuelan baseball player
* [[Yunior Díaz]] (born 1987), Cuban athlete 
* [[Yusniel Díaz]] (born 1996), Cuban baseball player

=== Others ===
* [[Antonio Díaz (disambiguation)]], several people
* [[Bartolomeu Dias]] (c. 1451–1500), first European known to have sailed around the Southern tip of Africa
* [[Bernal Díaz del Castillo]] (1492 to 1496, precise birth date is uncertain–1584), Spanish conquistador
* [[California Odha Zertuche Díaz]] (1923–1991), Mexican civil engineer, first woman to graduate from the [[School of Engineering, UNAM|UNAM School of Engineering]]
* [[Elva Diaz|Elva Díaz]], American neuroscientist, at the University of California at Davis
* [[Federico Díaz Legórburu]]  (1915-2002), Venezuelan scouting leader
* [[Franklin Chang-Díaz]] (born 1950), former NASA astronaut from Costa Rica
* [[Matthew Diaz]] (born 1965), American military lawyer, formerly with the Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Navy, later involved with controversial long-term prisoners / defendants  held at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba
* [[Miguel H. Díaz]] (born 1963), American diplomat, former U.S.  ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican City) of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, Italy 
* [[Virgilio Morales Díaz]], one of the last National Chief Scouts of Cuban scouting up to c. 1961 when Scouting in communist Cuba was terminated

== Fictional characters ==
* Marco Diaz, a [[List of Star vs. the Forces of Evil characters#Marco Diaz|character in the animated series ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'']]
* [[MarkioDiaz]], italian artist originally from ''[[Bologna]]''
* [[Miguel Diaz (character)|Miguel Diaz]], one of the main characters of in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai''
* [[Rosa Diaz]], a main character in the television series ''[[Brooklyn Nine-Nine]]''

==See also==
* [[Dias (surname)|Dias]], the Portuguese cognate of Díaz
* [[Spanish naming customs]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last= Bowie |first= Neil |author2= G W L Jackson |title= Surnames in Scotland over the last 140 years |publisher= General Register Office for Scotland |date= 2003-02-18 |url= http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/surnames-in-scotland-over-the-last-140-years.html |access-date= 2008-05-01 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100323003126/http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/surnames-in-scotland-over-the-last-140-years.html |archive-date= 2010-03-23 }}
* {{cite book |last= Carr |first= Derek C. |editor= Auguste Elfriede Christa Canitz and Gernot Rudolf Wieland
 |title= From Arabye to Engelond |orig-year= 1999 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jkqQIsVPHJgC
 |access-date= 2008-05-01 |publisher= University of Ottawa Press |isbn= 0-7766-0517-8
 |pages= 56–57 (Note 16) |chapter= Arabic and Hebrew ''auctoritates'' in the Works of Enrique de Villena |date=March 1999
 }}
* ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1913). [[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/El Cid]]. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
* {{cite book |last= De Platt |first= Lyman |title= Hispanic Surnames and Family History |orig-year= 1996
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xxcSboo5KTAC |access-date= 2008-04-30 |edition= 1st
 |series= The Hispanic Book of Generations |volume= 1 |publisher= Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn= 0-8063-1480-X |year= 1996
 }}
* {{cite book |last= Dixon |first= Bernard Homer |title= Surnames |via= [[Internet Archive]] |year= 1857 |orig-year= 1857
 |url= https://archive.org/details/surnames00dixogoog |access-date= 2008-04-30 |edition= 2nd
 |publisher= John Wilson and Son |page= [https://archive.org/details/surnames00dixogoog/page/n56 20]
 }}
* {{cite book |last= Fucilla |first= Joseph Guerin |title= Our Italian Surnames |orig-year= 1949
 |url= https://archive.org/details/ouritaliansurnam00fuci |url-access= registration |access-date= 2008-04-30 |edition= reprint |year= 1987
 |publisher= Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn= 0-8063-1187-8 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/ouritaliansurnam00fuci/page/109 109], footnote 6
 }}
* {{cite journal |last= Mateos |first= Pablo |author2=Ken Tucker |year= 2008 |title= Forenames and Surnames in Spain in 2004
 |journal= Names: A Journal of Onomastics |volume= (in press)
 |url= http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/pablo/papers/Mateos%20and%20Tucker%20(2008)%20Forenames%20and%20Surname%20in%20Spain%20in%202004.pdf 
 |format = PDF |access-date= 2008-04-28 }}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.ociototal.com/recopila2/r_aficiones/apellidos.html |title= Los 40 apellidos mas comunes en España |access-date= 2008-04-28 |author= OcioTotal |date= 1999-12-01 |work= Genealogía y heráldica |publisher= OcioTotal.com |language= es |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080430161150/http://www.ociototal.com/recopila2/r_aficiones/apellidos.html |archive-date= 2008-04-30 }}
* {{cite book |last= Smith |first= Elsdon Coles |title= American Surnames |orig-year= 1986 |year = 1986
 |url= https://archive.org/details/americansurnames0000smit |url-access= registration |access-date= 2008-04-27
 |publisher= Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn= 0-8063-1150-9 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/americansurnames0000smit/page/63 63]–64 |chapter= Surnames From Father's Name }} 
* [[United States Census Bureau]] (9 May 1995). [[s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100)]]. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
* {{cite web |url= https://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/Top1000.xls |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081209221654/http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/Top1000.xls |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2008-12-09 |title= Top 1000 Names |access-date= 2008-05-01 |author= United States Census Bureau |year= 2000 |work= Frequently Occurring Surnames From Census 2000 |format= XLS |publisher= U.S. Department of Commerce }} 
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* A history of the ''Díaz'' surname compiled by the Institute for Genealogy and History for Latin America is available for a fee.  See pages 38 and 39 of https://books.google.com/books?id=xxcSboo5KTAC for more information.

{{surname|Diaz}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Spanish-language surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Sephardic origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Spanish origin]]
[[Category:Patronymic surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames derived from given names]]
[[Category:Surnames of Colombian origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Puerto Rican origin]]