Show ContentsDe la riva History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of De la riva

What does the name De la riva mean?

Noble surnames, such as De la riva, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name De la riva, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The De la riva family originally lived near a river bank or seaside. The surname De la riva is derived from the word riparia, which is further derived form the Latin word ripa, which mean river bank or seaside.

Early Origins of the De la riva family

The surname De la riva was first found in Leon, in northwestern Spain.

Early History of the De la riva family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our De la riva research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1236, 1243, 1248, 1265, 1576 and 1655 are included under the topic Early De la riva History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

De la riva Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rivas, Riva, Ribas, Riba, de Rivas, de Ribas, de la Riva, de la Riba, de Riva, de Riba and many more.

Early Notables of the De la riva family

Prominent among members of the family

  • 19th century Peruvian politician José de la Riva Agüero, 1st President of Peru

De la riva Ranking

In the United States, the name De la riva is the 16,572nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Migration of the De la riva family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: missionary Juan de Riva. He witnessed the reconstruction of Buenos Aires in 1580; and charted the Río de la Plata. Other early migrants to the New World bearing this surname or a variant spelling of the name included Francisco de Rivas, who sailed to America in 1513.



  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook