Do people know the origins of the surname Diaz?

Question

I've studied the surname Diaz a bit, being that it's my surname.

I've learned that it has Hebrew origins in addition to the Spanish ones. "Diaz" means "Jacob" or "Son of Jacob" in Hebrew, and in Spanish, "Son of Diego", or maybe Diego is the Spanish version of Jacob. I also learned a variation of the name, which is "Diez", and some people use this version as their surname. Out of curiosity, I looked up Diaz on Wikipedia, and it appeared as the name of a city in Arkansas, in addition to the celebrities and such who have it as their last name. I find it interesting to study something of one's heritage and learn about it.

Tony

Answer 1

I know it is Spanish but it seems logical to be an older name and to go back to Hebrew.

Answer 2

www.ancestry.com

Diaz Name Meaning

Spanish (Diaz): patronymic from the medieval personal name Didacus (see Diego).

Diego Name Meaning

Spanish: from the personal name Diego, which is of uncertain derivation. It was early taken to be a reduced form of Santiago, and is commonly taken by English speakers as being a form of James, but this is no more than folk etymology. It is found in the Middle Ages in the Latin forms Didacus and Didagus, which Meyer-Lubke derived from Greek "didakhe" ‘"doctrine’, ‘teaching"’, but in view of the fact that it is unknown outside the Iberian Peninsula it may possibly have a pre-Roman origin.

     Top Places of Origin for Diego:

Italy --10

Germany-- 6

Spain-- 4

England --1

China --1

         Diego Civil War Service

0 --Confederate

3--Union

        Diaz Civil War Service

12 --Confederate

8--Union

         Top Places of Origin for Diaz

Spain --154

Cuba-- 77

Mexico-- 25

China --23

Germany --9

Colombia --5

www.familysearch.org  has these varied spellings: DYAS ;DIETZE ;DIAS; DAIS ; DEES ; DEAS; DEIS; DASE; DEAIS; DUYAS;DEAZ ; DYOS; DICE ; DYES ;DYESS; DEESE; & DIZE .

    It was listed in Mexico, Portugal, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden,

New Zealand, Guam,  Australia, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile,

Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Germany, Switzerland, France,

Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica,  El Salvador,  Dominican Republic,  Puerto Rico, Barbados,Cuba,  England, Scotland,

Philippines,  Austria., and various US states.

    Three of the earliest listings were for:

A. Diaz de Mena --b. 1196  

Annys Dias--b.   13 JUN 1596   Dover, Kent, England

HANS DIAZ OR DIETZE--b  1564   Urnasch, Appenzell, Switzerland

        I was really surprised to see that the majority had birth years in the mid-1800's to the mid-1900's.

Answer 3

You may have seen all of this before, but here it is anyway, just in case it can add anything !

Diaz  

First name origin & meaning:

Spanish: Supplanter

First name variations: Jago, Diego

Last name origin & meaning:

Spanish (Díaz): patronymic from the medieval personal name Didacus (see Diego).

Diego  

First name origins & meanings:

Spanish: Supplanter

Hebrew: Supplanter, substitute; the patron saint of Spain

Spanish: Supplanter

First name variations: Diaz, Jago, Jaymes, Jaime, Jaymie, Jamy, Jaimie, Jamesy, Jameson, Jamey, Jan, Jay, Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jimbo, Giacomo, Seamus, Sheamus, Shamus, Hamish, Santiago, Jaemes, Jaimes, Jaemie, Jaemy, Jaimie, Jame, Jameyel, Jami, Jamia, Jamiah, Jamian, Jamiee, Jamme, Jammey, Jammie, Jammy, Jamye, Jameze, Jamze, Jamieson, Jamison, Jamiesen, James, Santi, Chago, Santiago

Last name origin & meaning:

Spanish: from the personal name Diego, which is of uncertain derivation. It was early taken to be a reduced form of Santiago, and is commonly taken by English speakers as being a form of James, but this is no more than folk etymology. It is found in the Middle Ages in the Latin forms Didacus and Didagus, which Meyer-Lübke derived from Greek didakhē ‘doctrine’, ‘teaching’, but in view of the fact that it is unknown outside the Iberian Peninsula it may possibly have a pre-Roman origin.

And

Diego : Usually said to derive from Spanish Santiago (St.James). But in the Middle Ages Diego existed in the Latin forms Didacus and Didagus, causing some scholars to suspect that Diego may have actually derived from the Greek word 'didakhe', meaning : doctrine, teaching.