Today, many people in Colombia have last names that are a mix of Spanish and indigenous Colombian ancestry. But this wasn't always the case. In fact, the history of Colombian last names is fascinating and can tell us a lot about the country's past.

Prior to the Spanish conquest of Colombia in the 16th century, the majority of the population here were either indigenous people or of mixed ancestry. As such, they didn't have surnames in the Western sense of the word. Instead, they used a system of patronymics, wherein each person was named after their father or mother.

This changed with the arrival of the Spanish, who began bestowing surnames on the local population. For many indigenous Colombians, these new last names were a way to assert their Spanish identity and distance themselves from their indigenous roots. But for others, they simply adopted whatever surname their conquistador gave them.

Over time, as more and more Spaniards settled in Colombia, marriage between Spanish colonists and indigenous women became increasingly common. As a result, many Colombian surnames today are a mix of Spanish and indigenous heritage. So next time you hear a Colombian surname, remember that it might just be telling you a story about the country's rich history.

Here is a list of Colombian last names.

Abahonza Abaunza Abiantun Abondano Abonia Abreo Abril Abuabara Acero Achicanoy Achicue Achuri
Achury Acosta Adarme Adarve Adrada Agames Agamez Agredo Agresot Agresott Aguacia Agudelo Aguilera Alayon Alberto Aleans Alfaro Almanza Altahona Alvira Alviz Alzamora Alzate Amariles Amarillo Amorocho Amortegui Anillo Ante Antia Anzola Apolinar Aponza Arandia Aranzazu Araque
Arbelaez Arcila Arciniegas Arcon Arcos Ardila Arenales Arenis Argaez Argel Arguello Aristizabal Arizala Armenia Armero Arraut Arredondo Arroyave Arrubla Artunduaga Arzayus Atuesta Avella Avellaneda Aycardi Ayerbe Ayola Ayure Bacca Badel Baena Bahamon Balbin Baldion Ballen Banco Baquero Barinas Barn Barraza Barrero Basante Baute Bazurto Bazzani Bedoya Beltran Bendeck
Benjumea Berrio Bertel Betancur Betancurt Blandon Blanquicet Bohorquez Bonett Bonfante Bonivento Borda Bornacelli Borrero Brieva Buitrago Cadavid Caita Calderon Callejas Calvete Camelo Campillo Campino Canabal Canas Candelo Candil Canizares Cante Cantillo Cantor Cardenas Cardeno Carrascal Cartagena Casallas Castelblanco Castiblanco Castillejo Castrillon Catano Cavadia Caycedo Cediel Celin Cely Ceron Chalarca Chantre Charry Chaverra Checa Chica Clavijo Col Collazos Constanza Consuelo Contento Coral Corcho Corena Corpas Correal Corredor Cortes Cristancho Cuadros Cubillos Cuello Dager Dallos Dangond DeAza Delahoz Devia Diazgranados Ditta Donado Drada Durango Dussan Ealo
Ebrat Echenique Echeverri Echeverry Eljach Elles Escorcia Escuela Espeleta Espinel Espitia Esquivia Estela Fabra Fabregas Facundo Fandino Forero Fortich Fresneda

Last Names by Countries

Afghans Algerian Albanian Angolan Argentines Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Bangladeshi Belarusian Belgian Benin Bolivian Bosniak Brazilian British Bulgarian Burkinab Cambodian Cameroonian Canadian Chilean Chinese Colombian Croatian Czech Congolese Danish Dominican Republic Ecuadorian Egyptian Ethiopian Finn French Georgian German Ghanaian Greek Guatemalan Hungarian Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Irish Israeli Italian Ivorian Japanese Kazakh Kenyan Latvian Lebanese Lithuanian Macedonian Malaysian Mexican Moroccan Mozambican Nepali Netherland Nigerian Norwegian Pakistani Peruvian Filipino Polish Portugese Romanian Russian Saudi Arabian Serbian Slovak Slovenes South African Spanish Sri Lankan Swedish Swiss Syrian Tanzanian Tunisian Turkish Ugandan Ukrainian US-American Uzbek Venezuelan Vietnamese Zambian Zimbabwean