Where did the surname Caracoza come from?

Answer 1

-The name Caracoza has two origins. The first being of Turkish origin. The name was an uncommon name just before the time of the great Christian Holy Wars against the Turks /Ottomans. It was the name of a captain of the Turkish fleet who was thought of as a ''pirate'' by the Catholics engaged in the battle of Lepanto. The captain's full name is recorded in accounts of the battle on the side of the Turks as being "Caracoza Ali". It is not certain whether or not the name Caracoza was used as a surname or first name, although it is quite likely that the name Ali was used as the first name during the time. In the writings of Sir Thomas Browne, the captain is again referred to as a pirate and is addressed as "caracoza", although this could have been the common form of addressing a man (in other words, bu using his surname), granted that the author known to have written about "caracoza", was English.

-The second origin is believed to be Spanish, specifically from the region of "Saragossa" in the former Spanish Kingdom of Aragon. It is thought to be a derivative of the name of the location. However the spelling has changed. Sometime after the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the name surfaced in the New World as a surname (last name). Specifically in the country of Mexico under the Spanish Crown. Since there was no exposure of the Islamic faith to the New World, the name is thought to have come through Spanish migrants who came to inhabit the new land and not through the Turkish origin. The name first began to appear in the city of Salamanca (named after the region in Spain), and present day states of Guanajuato and Michoacan in Mexico around the mid to late 18th century (aka the 1700's). According to Catholic Church records, the surname also began to appear in the northern territories of the Spanish Crown (now modern day California, USA), beginning in the mid to late 18th century in what is now San Francisco and San Miguel. The surname appeared in two forms at the time according to baptismal and marriage records of the Catholic Church. One being the more common "Caracoza", and the other thought to be the proper format used by the nobility of "Saragossa," this being de Caracoza". The distinction is made between commoners and nobility by the additional use of traditional attachments to the name which were typically made in reference to the Roman Catholic faith. Such as: de Caracoza y todos los Santos, de Caracoza y el santisima trinidad, de Caracoza de la visitacion, or Caracoza de la acencion etc. etc. Another variant of the surname that denotes a Noble status is the use of multiple surnames with the "y" as a separation. In example: "de Sanchez, Caracoza y la conception", or even like this "de la Paz Caracoza." Any surname spelled with an "ez" ending is indicative of a Patroniminal Germanic origin and any surname with the end spelling of "es" is indicative of patronominal Portuguese origin which is close to and often times used in Spain as well.


-Other interesting facts about the name.

-The surname "Caracoza", appears within records on Ellis Island, New York from Greek immigrants coming into the island on ships during the beginning to mid 19th century (1900's).

-The name Caracoza was adopted and used by many native and indigenous peoples of Mexico after the fall of the Spanish Empire in modern day Mexico and western USA. These people were former slaves of the Spanish Noble families and often times adopted the use of the Christian surname of their masters. The only difference in Mexico is that they dropped the use of the "de" before the name and also dropped the use of other surnames and religious referrences such as "y de todos los Santos." The name can now be found throughout all regions of modern day Mexico and is most often used by the indigenous people.

-In North America after the fall of the Spanish Empire, especially in the USA, the former Nobles continued to use the name with the "de", right up until the 1920's and 1930's predominantly in the state of California (mostly southern). The American aquisition of the state of California and the Americanization of the region brought about the drop of the use of "de" before the name. This was mainly due to the US Constitution which did not recognize titles of Nobility. During the same period after the American acquisition of the territory, many of the native and indigenous peoples of Mexico who were former slaves, began to migrate to the US thus bringing along the name they picked up without the use of "de" and without the religious referrences.