Ponce History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Spain

Etymology of Ponce

What does the name Ponce mean?

The noble Spanish surname Ponce is of patronymic origin, that is, it belongs to that category of surnames which are derived from the personal name of the father of the original bearer. The personal name Ponce was very common during Roman times, and Poncio Pilatos the most popular of all, for being the judge of Jesus. Thus, the surname Ponce signifies "son of Pontius."

Early Origins of the Ponce family

The surname Ponce was first found in the northern provinces of Spain. However, like other Spanish patronymics, the surname arose independently throughout various Regions of Spain, and became quite numerous, due to the early popularity of the first name.

Early History of the Ponce family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ponce research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1460, 1521 and 1629 are included under the topic Early Ponce History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ponce Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ponce De Leon, Ponce de Andrada, Ponce De Cabrera, Ponce De Esquivel and many more.

Early Notables of the Ponce family

Prominent among bearers of the family name at this time was

Juan Ponce de Leon (1460-1521) who accompanied Cristobal Colon in his second trip to the New World...
Also notable was Tomas Ponce de Leon y Cueto who was born in Puebla de los Angeles (Peru) in 1629 and was a knight in the noble military order of Santiago...

Ponce World Ranking

In the United States, the name Ponce is the 1,137^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Ponce is ranked the 3,661^st most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Ponce is the 87^th popular surname with an estimated 54 people with that name. 3

Ponce migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ponce Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joh Gottlieb Ponce, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 4

Ponce Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan Ponce, who arrived in America in 1811 4
Hernan Ponce, who arrived in America in 1811 4
Ines Ponce, who arrived in America in 1829 4
Maria Ponce, aged 42, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 4
Heman Ponce, who landed in Cartagena in 1834 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ponce migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Ponce Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Ana Ponce, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1835 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Ponce (post 1700) +

Ramón Héctor Ponce (1948-2019), Argentine professional footballer
Camilo Ponce Enríquez (1912-1976), President of Ecuador 1956–1960
Manuel María Ponce Brousset (1874-1966), President of Peru for two days in 1966
Miguel Ángel Ponce (b. 1989), Mexican footballer
Manuel Barbachano Ponce (1924-1994), Mexican film producer, director, screenwriter, and novelist
Waldo Ponce (b. 1982), Chilean footballer
Sergio Amaury Ponce (b. 1981), Mexican footballer
Manuel Ponce (1882-1948), Mexican composer
Edgar Ponce (1974-2005), Mexican actor and dancer
Daniel Ponce de León (b. 1980), Mexican professional boxer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies