Conversos Judasaintes
Tried by the Méxican Inquisition
1528-1815
This page provides some of the names of Conversos who were tried in New Spain (México) by the Spanish Inquisition for relapsing into Judaism. Some of these names are still common in México and the American Southwest. The fact that you, however, share a last name with any of the Conversos mentioned here does not mean that you are or you are not a descendant of them. If you think that you may be their descendant , you will have to follow links to you ancestors to prove your ancestry. Since the Inquisition did not discriminate based on social status, they tried conquistadores,high ranking officials, members of the clergy, merchants, and common ordinary citizens. Many of these surnames also appear in the records of the Inquisition in Peru and New Granada (Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama). Not all the persons tried by the Inquisition were burned at the stake, some were lucky and got away with wearing a San Benito, or serving a jail sentence, but many lost their properties and died in prison. Furthermore, in New Spain there were Conversos in all walks of life. Some of them practiced Judaism and were caught, some were not. On the other hand, there were also Conversos who did not practice Judaism, but they were falsely accused of practicing the religion of their ancestors.
Asterisk * denote that more than one individual with the same surname next to the asterisk was tried by the Inquisition. In some cases these individuals sharing surnames belong to the same family, but this is not true in all cases, particularly in common names like Rodriguez, Lopez and Perez.
Sources:
Archivo General de la Nación de México. Ramo de la Inquisición.
Dominguez Ortiz , Antonio, Los Judeoconversos en España y America (Madrid) Liebman, Seymour B. The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, (Coral Gables, Florida. University of Miami Press, 1974)
Liss, Peggy K., México and the Origins of Nationality, 1521-1556, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975)
Torroba, Bernaldo de Quiros, Felipe, Historia de Los Sefarditas (Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires)
A BC DE FG H I JL MN OP Q R S TU V X Z
Abeña, Acosta*, Acuña, Aeres (Arias), Aguirre, Aguado, Aguilar, Agurto*, Alarcon, Alva, Albalaez, Alvares, Albor, Albuqerque, Alcazar, Alfar*, Alfaro, Aliaya Cardona, Almeyda*, Almonacer,
Alonzo, (Blacksmith, Hernando de Alonzo, who built the boats that Hernan Cortés used to assault Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was burned alive in México City in 1528. According to Dr. Liebman, Alonzo was the first Jew in North America who was caught practising Judaism. Nevertheless, there were some other conversos besides Alonzo in the leadership positions of the New Spain government-Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Gonzalo de Salazar, Alonso de Estrada, Diego de Ocaña, Pedro de la Maluenda.),
Altamirano*, clergy, Altamiro, Alva, Alvarado, Alvares*, Amesquita*, Andrada*, Adrade*, Andres, Anfroy, Angel, Angeles, Angelini, Antonio, Antunez, Arana, Arango, Aranz, Araujo, Arbolaez, Ariano, Arellano, Arevalo, Arias*, Arizmendi, Arneo, Arrojo, Asana, Astorga, Ayllon, Azcazibar, Acevedo.
Baca, Baez*, Baeza, Bandera, Bandejo, Batista, Batista del Bosque, Barajona, Barbosa, Barreta, Barrera, Barrientos, Barrios, Bases, Bautista, Baza, Bello, Belmonte, Benites, Benitez*, Bernal, Blandon, Bolta, Borullo, Bosque, Botello*, Brago, Bravo*, Briceño, Briones, Burgos*, Bustos*.
Caceres*, Calvo Diez, Camargo, Campo, Campos*, Candia, Canizo, Caravallo, Carballo, Carabella, Carbajal, Carballo, Cardenas, Cardoso*, Carmona, Carrasco, Carretero, Carrión*,
Carvajal*, (Governor of the New Kingdom of Nuevo León, Admiral, and Captain General, Luis de Carvajal y la Cueva. He died in prison awaiting trial; his nephew Luis Carvajal was burned at the stake in 1596; also other members of this family were burned at the stake),
Castaño, Castellanos, Castro*, Cegovia, Cercado, Cerda, Chartre, Cisneros, clergy, Cordova, Coronel, Correa, Corvera, Cruz*, Cubas, Cuello, Cueva.
Diaz*, Diaz de Caceres, Diaz de Castella, Diaz Callero, Diaz de Castillo, Diaz Enriquez, Diaz de Espinosa, Diaz Flores, Diaz de Limos, Diaz de Llerena, Diaz Machorro, Diaz Marquez, Diaz Mataraña, Diaz de Montoya, Diaz Nieto, Diaz Rojas, Diaz Santillan, Diaz de Silva, Diaz de Solis, Diaz Vaez, Diez, Diez de Lineo, Dominguez, Duarte*, Dura.
Enrique, Enriquez*, Enriquez de Lineo, Enriquez Montillo, Enriquez de la Paiba, Enriquez de Silva, Enriquez Texoso, Ermitaño, Esparta, Espejo, Esperanza, Espina, Espinola, Espinosa*, Esteves.
Fajardo, Farinas, Febo, Felipe, Fernan, Fernandez*, Fernandez Barraun, Fernandez Cardado, Fernandez de Castro*, Fernandez Chillon, Fernadez Correa*, Fernandez de Elvas, Fernadez de Fonseca, Fernadez de León, Fernadez Pereyra, Fernadez Salseda, Fernandez de Torres, Fernadez Tristan, Ferreira, Figueroa*, Flores*, Flores Ballina, Fondevilla, Fonseca*, Francis, Franco*, Frayle, Fuentes.
Gabriel, Gama*, García*, García del Brocel, GarcíaCabezuelo, García el Conde, García de Santa Ana, García de la Soria, García de la Vega, Geronyma de Silva, Gerrera*, Guierra, Gil de la Guarda, Gogorron, Gois de Matos, Gomez*, Gomez Morales, Gomez de Acosta, Gomez Alvarez, Gomez Botello, Gomez Cardoso, Gomez Carballo, Gomez de Lima, Gomez Lobo, Gomez Navarro*, Gomez Pereira, Gomes de Silva, Gomez Silvera, Gomez Texoso*, Gonzalez*, Gonzalez Bermegero, Gonzalez de Escobar, Gonzalez Figueredo, Gonzalez Jamaica, Gonzalez de Saavedra, Gonzalez de Sobrerro, Goya Matos, Granada*, Granados, Guarda, Guerra, Guillermo.
Henero, Henriquez*, Heredia, Hernandez*, Hernandez de Almeida, Hernandez de Alvor, Hernadez de Cazala, Hernandez Serodia, Hernadez Victoria, Herrador, Herrera*, Herrero,
Hidalgo y Costilla (the father of the Méxican Idependence, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla shot in Chihuahua and beheaded in 1812. His head was hung in the Alondiga de Granadita de Guanajuato as a warning to other rebels and herectics),
Holgado, Home (Ome), Huerta*, Hurtado, clergy.
Ibernia, Isabel.
Jacinto, Javares, Jerra, Jeronima, Jesus Maria, Jimenez Piquero, Jorge*, Juan, Juarez*.
Lais, Lamport, Lanzarote, Laponte, Lauguaran, León*, León Carvajal, León y de la Cueva, León Jaramillo*, León Mendoza, Lescano, Lima, Linares, Lombard, Lopez*, Lopez de Aguarda, Lopez de Altavista, Lopez Blandon, Lopez Bravo, Lopez Cardado, Lopez de Chavez, Lopez Coronal, Lopez Coronel, Lopez Correa*, Lopez Diaz, Lopez Enriquez*, Lopez de Fonseca, Lopez de Granada, Lopez de Guarda, Lopez Home, Lopez de Huerta, Lopez de Llerena, Lopez Lobo, Lopez Lucena, Lopez Mejia, Lopez Mendez,
Lopez de Mendizabal (Governor of New México, Bernardo Lopez y Mendizabal),
Lopez Meza, Lopez Monforte*, Lopez de Morales*, Lopez de Nordoña, Lopez Nuñez*, Lopez de Orduña, Lopez Ramirez, Lopez Regalon, Lopez Rivera, Lopez Sevilla, Lopez de Tepozotlan, Lopez Tristan, Lorenzo*, Lozado, Lozano, Lucena*, Lucerna, Luis*, Luna*.
Machado*, Machorro*, Machuca, Maderos (Mederos), Madrigal, Magdalena*, Mala, Maldonado, Muntillo, Manuel, Maria, Marin, Marquez*, Martinez*, Martinez de la Torre, Martinez de Villagomez, Matos, Medina*, Mejia, Melendez*, Mella*, Melo, Mena, Mendez*, Mendoza*, Mener, Mercado*, Merino, Mexia, Mezquita*, Miguel*, Millan, Mirabel, Miranda*, Moisen Gomez, Molina, Montero*, Montes, Monteverde, Montoya, Morales*, Moreno, Morera*, Moro, Moron, Mosquera, Muñoz*.
Narvaez, Navarro, Nieto, Noguera, Nuñez*.
Obandajo, Ocampo,
Diego de Ocaña*, a notary public, and a cofidant of the powerful royal treasury officer who was also a converso, Gonzalo de Salazar. Ocaña was tried and found guilty of practising Judaism. But he was not sent to the stake, possibly, because of his close relationship with Gonzalo de Salazar.
Olivera, Olivares*, Oliver, Ome*, Oporto, Ordaz, Ordoñez, Orosco, Orta, Ortega, Ortiz.
Pacheco*, Pacheco de León, Paduano, Paiba, Pardo, Paredes, Paz, Pacual, Peña*, Peñaloes, Peñalosa Betanzos, Peralta, Peregrino, Pereira*, Pereiras, Pereryra, Perez*, Perez de Albuquerque, Perez Arias, Perez del Bosque*, Perez Caldero, Perez Carello, Perez Correa, Perez Ferro, Perez Nuñez, Perez de Ocastelo, Perez Roldan, Perez de Salazar, Perez Trista, Perez de Villadiego, Perpente Joannes, Pimentel, Pinero, Pliego, Pomar, Ponce, Ponce de León*, Potello, Prieto de Villegas.
Quiñones.
Ramirez*, Ramirez de Guzman, Ramirez Lopez, Ramirez Montilla*, Ramirez de Portella, Ramos, Rasen, Rasen, Raspiera, Raymundi y Arengo, Raaymundi, Renaldos, Reyes, Reza*, Ribera, Rios*, Riosas, Rivera*, Rivero, Robles*, Rocabal, Rodriguez*, Rodriguez Acuña, Rodriguez Alfaro, Rodriguez Arias*, Rodriguez del Bosque, Rodriguez Botello, Rodriguez de Carrasco*, Rodriguez Castaño, Rodriguez de Carvajal*, Rodriguez Cea, Rodriguez Deza, Rodriguez Falero, Rodriguez García, Rodriguez de Gresta, Rodriguez de Herrera, Rodriguez Horta, Rodriguez Huerta, Rodriguez Juarez, Rodriguez de Ledesma, Rodriguez Lopez, Rodriguez de Mato*s, Rodriguez Matus, Rodriguez de Molina*, Rodriguez Nuñez*, Rodriguez Obregon, Rodriguez de Olivera, Rodriguez Paiba, Rodriguez de Seas, Rodriguez de Segura, Rodriguez de Silva, Rodriguez Sobremonte, Rodriguez Tavares, Rodriguez Tejoso, Rodriguez Tristan, Rodriguez Vaez, Roel, Roja, Rojas*, Rojas Ayara, Roman, Romero, Rosa, Roxas*, Rozaval, Ruipo, Ruiz*, Ruiz Esparza, Ruiz de Luna, Ruiz Marques, Ruiz Ortiz.
Saña, Sanchez*, Sanchez Manriquez, Sanchez de Sosa, Sandoval, San Ignacio, San Joseph, San Lucar, Santillan, Santoyo, Segovia*, Serrano*, Silba, Silva*, Silvera, Simon, Sobremonte, Sola*, Soria, Sosa*, Sosa y Prado, Sousa, Suarez*, Suarez de Figueroa*, Suarez de Mezquita, Suarez de Ocaña, Susnabar.
Tabera, Taboada, Tabora, Tal, Tavares, Tavarez, Teborio, Tejera, Tejoso*, Testa, Texoso*, Tinoco*,
Tirado, Tobar, Torres*, Tovares,
Treviño (Luis Treviño de Sobremontes lived in Nueva Galicia and Oaxaca where he was a merchant; he was burned at the stake in 1649),
Tristan*.
Ubago, Ullis de Luna, Uruzel.
Vaez*, Vaez Alcaceria, Vaez de Acevedo, Vaez de Cateloblanco*, Vaez de Lemus, Vaez Mendez*, Vaez Mesignana, Vaez Pereira, Vaez de Rojas, Vaez Sevilla*, Vaez Torres, Valencia, Valle*, Vara, Vargas, Vasquez*, Vaz*, Vega, Vera, Vergara, Victoria, Villalta, Villardes, Villarreal, Villauriti, Villegas, Villena, Viveros, Voz Medrano.
Ximenez de la Camara, Ximon, Xuarez*.
Zaldivar, Zarate, Zerda, Zerecedo, Zuarez.
Bibliography
Dominguez Ortis, Antonio. Los Judeoconversos en España y América. Madrid: Ediciones Istmo, 1971.
Liebman, Seymour B. "Hernando Alonso, First Jew on the North America Continent." Journal of Inter-American Studies 5 (April 1963):291.
