Surname Geneology question?

Question

Hi i'm from the Philippines and i've collected my grandparents' surnames (mothers' and fathers' side). I want to know where my ancestors were from or what nationality were they. Here are my grandparents' surnames:

Quiachon

Delfin

Garcia

Santillan

Calleja (great-grandfather)

Answer 1

A surname will not guarantee knowing their nationality, or where they came from.  Anything like that would be totally vague (Garcia is a Hispanic name.. that could be many places).

The best way is not working from surnames.. but looking to identify actual facts about the real persons, who are your relatives.

Answer 2

All of these names are of Spanish origin, many Filipino names have their origin in Spain because the Philippines became a Spanish colony in the 16th century.

This link is to a site which explains Filipino last names.

http://www.bibingka.com/names/

Edit : All of these names are, without a shadow of doubt, of Spanish origin, whether the bearers of those names are all of Spanish origin is another matter, which only research can resolve.

Answer 3

I couldn't find anything for the first name, but the rest are listed below.

Delfin Name Meaning and History

Spanish (Delfín) and Italian (Venice): variant of Delfino.

Garcia Name Meaning and History

Spanish (García) and Portuguese: from a medieval personal name of uncertain origin. It is normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to Basque (h)artz ‘bear’.

Santillan Name Meaning and History

Spanish (Santillán): habitational name from any of the places named for the dedication of a local church or shrine to a St. Julian (Latin Sanctus Iulianus).

Calleja Name Meaning and History

Spanish: topographic name from a diminutive of Calle ‘street’.

Hope this helps.