Are you from Lanzarote and don't know where your surname comes from? This is the origin of some of them

Canary Islands has a multitude of surnames that hide a history behind their origin. Some of them are especially characteristic of Lanzarote, as is the case of Tavío, Bethencourt, Perdomo, Cabrera, Brito, Fajardo or Benítez, among others.

Tavío is a surname that is especially concentrated in the municipality of Tinajo and is of Canarian-Portuguese origin. Experts attribute several theories to its origin. On the one hand, it dates back to medieval times and it is thought to come from a captain named Tavilus who arrived in Lanzarote, which is why it is believed to have begun to spread through this person.

However, other investigations point out that the surname has undergone variations and changes in its way of writing and pronouncing it, which is why throughout its history it has become complicated to know its exact origin. Tavío is present in Latin America and the United States as a result of Canarian migration to the continent.

On the other hand, the surname Bethencourt is one of the most widespread in the Canary Islands, especially in Lanzarote, from which others such as Betancort or Betancor have also evolved. It is of French origin and it was the conqueror Jean de Béthencourt (1362–1425) who brought it to Lanzarote, an island to which he arrived at the hands of Castile and of which he became king. Currently, around 59,013 people around the world have this surname, according to Geneanet.

Another of the most recognizable and oldest surnames in Lanzarote is Perdomo. Its origin dates back to the Norman Frenchman Arriete Preud´homme, who arrived on the island with Jean de Béthencourt and whose surname was Hispanized. According to the page Historia Municipio de Haría, Arriete Preud´homme lived in Haría and married Margarita de Bethencourt, daughter of Maciot and the Guanche princess Teguise.

For its part, the surname Cabrera owes its origin to the Spanish conquest in the Canary Islands, as it is related to the Visigothic kings. Specifically, to Prince Osorio, cousin and chieftain of King Pelayo (founder of Asturias). In Lanzarote, the knight from Córdoba Alonso de Cabrera settled, which is why the colonels of the island descended from him, according to the page Origin of surnames.

Brito is another of the most widespread surnames in Lanzarote. Its origin is Galician-Portuguese and it is widely distributed in other areas of Spain, but especially in the Canary Islands. Its origin is attributed to the populations called Brito that exist in A Coruña and Portugal and which, in turn, comes from the Latin word 'britto', meaning a person from Brittany (an ancient province of France). In the archipelago, it spread with the arrival of Manuel Brito from Castile, according to the Institute of Family History.

Following the colonial line, we find Fajardo, a surname that comes from Castilla-La Mancha and whose origin is due to the word 'fajardo', which means 'yellowish' and was used to describe those people with dark hair and light eyes. In addition, it is also related to the word 'faja', a belt. According to experts, this meaning was given due to the use made by the soldier ancestors of this surname, who wore belts to hold their weapons.

Lastly, another of the most characteristic surnames in Lanzarote is Benítez and whose origin is patronymic, that is, it comes from a proper name. Specifically, from Benito, and it means 'son or descendant of', which is why there were a large number of families with this surname even though they were not related to each other. Some experts point out that the oldest people who were surnamed Benítez came from Asturias.