Vasquez
Vázquez (also spelled Vásquez, Vasques), in non Spanish-speaking countries often as Vazquez or Vasquez. Originally Basques (Vascos in Spanish) is French and English to describe an ethnic group which primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country. The Latin labial-velar approximant /w/ generally evolved into the bilabials /b/ and /β̞/ in Gascon and Spanish, probably under the influence of Basque and Aquitanian, a language related to old Basque and spoken in Gascony in Antiquity (similarly the Latin /w/ evolved into /v/ in French, Italian and other languages). Other roots describe it as a Galician surname, in use not only in Galicia but all over Spanish-speaking world.
To a lesser extent it also occurs in Portuguese-speaking countries, where Vasco as surname predominates. Vasquez means "[son] of Vasco" and Vasco comes from the pre-Roman latinized name "Velascus" - a name of uncertain origin and meaning, but probably meaning Basque or Iberian. In Galician-Portuguese the pre-Roman name becomes Velascu > Veascu > Vaasco > Vasco.
It is known that 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". [1]
There are also Spanish cognate surnames Velasco or Velázquez).[2]
List of people with this surname
- Andres Vasquez, a Peruvian-born Swedish football midfielder.
- Andrew Vasquez, Native American flute player
- Catalina Vasquez Villalpando, treasurer of the United States
- Domingo Vásquez, president of Honduras 1893-08-07 - 1894-02-22
- Eric Vasquez, an American soccer player
- Fabio Vásquez Castaño, a Colombian rebel and revolutionary
- Fernando Vázquez, Spanish football manager
- Fran Vázquez, Spanish basketball player
- Franco Vázquez, Argentine footballer
- Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador
- Gabriel Vásquez, a Spanish Jesuit theologian
- Gaddi Vasquez, the 8th United States Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
- Greivis Vásquez (born 1987), Venezuelan basketball player
- Horacio Vásquez, a Dominican general and political figure
- Ian Vásquez, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity
- Ignacio Vázquez, Mexican football (soccer) player
- Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer
- Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball pitcher
- Jennifer Vasquez, American contestant in Big Brother 6 (U.S.)
- Jhonen Vasquez, Californian cartoonist
- Jorge Vásquez, a major league baseball pitcher
- Jorge Vázquez, a New York Yankees minor league first baseman
- Jorge Vázquez Viaña (1939–1967), Bolivian revolutionary
- Joseph Vásquez, an American independent filmmaker
- Juan Vásquez (composer), a Spanish priest and composer of the renaissance
- Juan T. Vázquez Martín, a Cuban abstract painter
- Juanes, full name Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (Vásquez is his second, or matrilineal, last name), a Colombian rock musician
- Julio César Vásquez, a professional boxer in the super middleweight (168 lb) division
- Junior Vasquez, a New York City club DJ and remixer/producer
- La La Vásquez, Puerto Rican MTV VJ
- Louis Vásquez, a mountain man and trader from Missouri
- Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Spanish explorer
- Luis Vasquez, American football player
- Manuel Vázquez Gallego, Spanish comic artist and writer
- Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish writer
- Mario Vazquez, New York Puerto Rican singer, from American Idol
- Martín Vásquez, Mexican soccer player, also played for US team
- Mona Vasquez, a French critic of Scientology
- Orlando Vásquez, a Nicaraguan weightlifter
- Ramón Vázquez, an American baseball player
- Randy Vasquez, an American actor
- Rafael Vásquez, a Peruvian politician and a Congressman
- Rafael Martín Vázquez, a Spanish footballer
- Roberta Vasquez, a Cuban-American model, actress and Playboy playmate
- Roberto Vásquez, a southpaw boxer in the flyweight division
- Sam Vasquez (1972–2007), American MMA fighter
- Tabaré Vázquez, Ex-President of Uruguay
- Tiburcio Vásquez, a Mexican bandit
- Xuitlaltzin Vázquez, a Mexican writer
- Walter Vásquez Vejarano, a Peruvian lawyer, politician and President of the Supreme Court
Music
- Vásquez, a rock band featuring Ricky "the Atomic Elf" Bacchus
- Vazquez, the original and founding bass player of the rock band Damone (band)
Fictional People
- Lt. Vasquez, platoon leader in the USMC 1st Force Recon in the 2007 video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Danny Vasquez, a main character in the webseries, Bravest Warriors
- Pvt. J. Vasquez, one of the fictional United States Colonial Marines in the 1986 film Aliens
- Alex Vasquez, one of the major characters of the Totally Spies animated series.
- El tío Vázquez, a comic character created by Manuel Vázquez Gallego.
- Dee Vasquez, a character in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Victor Vasquez, a character in the 2005 game Need For Speed: Most Wanted.