Who did the last name Alvarez originate from? Who brougth it to Mexico?

I believe it came from Spain, then again, someone told me that the Spaniard started making up last names in Mexico according to someones first name, for example, indigenous slaves to Alvaro (a first name) were given the last name Alvarez. Is that accurate?

Who did the last name Alvarez originate from? Who brougth it to Mexico?
脕lvarez is a patronimic surname, meaning 'son of Alvar', of spanish and portuguese origin. It is an ancient surname which has different origins in different times and places in Spain and Portugal during the Middle Age. According to the Spanish genealogist Fernando Gonz谩lez Doria in his 'Nobiliary Dictionary' the most ancient branch seems to be '脕lvarez de Asturias', in the northern Spanish region of Asturias. With the 'Reconquista' or spanish war against the Moores during seven centuries, the name spread through the Iberian Peninsula. The most important 脕lvarez branches in America can be found in Colombia, Mexico and Peru. It is very difficult to assure which is the most ancient lineage in America because when the Conquest of America started the name was very common and many Spaniards with that name made the journey to the New World. In Mexico one of the most important lineages is the '脕lvarez de la Campana' family, originary of La Coru帽a.





The difference with other modern colonizations is that in South America many Spaniards married indigenous people (think in the typical 'Mestizo' population you find in South America, not in North America, Africa or India). The name was incorporated by the indigenous population mainly from fathers to sons and also for burocratic purposes (the use of last names was not an indigenous custom)
Reply:I found the people in the first section born in Mexico before 1700 on the Mormon's site. (Link 1 below). I found the people below in the second section on the same site. They were born in Spain.





About.com (Link 2) says Alvarez means "Son of Alvaro".





Some slaves in the US took the surname of their former owner, if they liked him or they had already been using it. For instance, if John Smith owned a slave named Luther, and his neighbor Mike Miller owned another slave name Luther, they might call the two Luther Smith and Luther Miller to keep them straight.





Quite a few slaves picked another surname as soon as they could; Washington or Green or Brown, for instance.





Slaves in Mexico may have done the same thing. I'm not an expert on slavery, nor on Mexican history.





Here are the people I found.


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1. Juan ALVAREZ DE SALASAR - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 21 Nov 1640 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





2. Juan ALBARES PERES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 23 Feb 1642 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





3. Juan LOPEZ ALVAREZ - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 22 Feb 1644 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





4. Juan SOTO ALBARES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 18 Mar 1646 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





5. Juan ALBARES DE ARTIAGA - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 11 Jan 1647 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





6. Juan DE MORALES ALBARES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 05 Apr 1648 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





7. Juan ALBARES ORTIS - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 09 Jan 1651 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





8. Juan JONCHOSO ALBARES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 10 Feb 1657 Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico





9. Juan DE CONTRERAS ALBARES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 14 Feb 1661 Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico





10. Juan ALBARES DE PERALTA - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 10 Sep 1663 Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico





11. Juan Manuel DE SALAZAR ALBARES - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 20 Sep 1676 Cuauhtemoc, Distrito Federal, Mexico





12. Juan TELLEZ ALVAREZ - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 10 Jan 1677 Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico





13. Joan ALVAREZ - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 25 Jul 1677 Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico





14. Juan ALVARES OQUENDO - Vital Records Index


Gender: M Birth/Christening: 07 Jan 1678 Campeche, Campeche, Mexico


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89. Catalina Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1608 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





90. Isabel Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1648 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





91. Isabel Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1620 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





92. Ana Alvarez de Losa - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 09 SEP 1709 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





93. Isabel Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1618 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





94. Mar铆a Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1657 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





95. Elvira Alvarez - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 1557 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain





96. Josefa Mar铆a Alvarez Cant贸n - International Genealogical Index / SE


Gender: Female Birth: 13 AUG 1691 Moratalla, Murcia, Spain