Zambrano is a surname of Basque origin. Members of this family have played a prominent role through the history of Spain and The Americas.
Zambrana or Zambrano comes from the word soberano ("sovereign").
The Zambrano family originated in the mountains of Biscay. Piferrer records that the first to bear this name was Fortun Sanchez.
Francisco Zazo y Rosillo, the Chronicler King of Arms to Philip V of Spain, chronicled the lineage of the Zambrano family from its origins in the village of Zambrana in the Guizpuzcoa province in what was at the time the Kingdom of Castile. This Castilian origin is reflected in the Zambrano family crest, which features the castle sigil of Castile along with the rose sigil of Reus. The progenitor of this line was Ochoa de Zambraos, who served as a knight to the Catholic Monarchs. Zazo proceeds to trace the lineage through five generations (and the eventual evolution of the name from Zambraos to Zambrano), noting the spread of the family to Flanders, Úbeda, Málaga, Antequera and La Rioja, and the service of the family to Philip I of Castile, Charles V of Flanders and Philip II of Spain.
The village of Zambrana was named for the Zambrano family, who were granted a land grant there by Don Sancho in 1058.
The Estado Militar de España was an annual register of the status of military affairs of Spain, including the listing of special orders of military honor, including the Order of Santiago, the Order of Calatrava, the Order of Alcantara and the Order of Montesa. The Zambrano name can be found frequently among these registers.
Notable people with this surname include:
Alejandro Zambrano (born 1991), Spanish football midfielderAlonso de Llera Zambrano (fl. 1610–1639), Spanish painter, active during Baroque periodAura Zambrano (born January 1981), Venezuelan beauty pageant winnerBenito Zambrano (born 1965), Spanish screenwriter and film directorCarlos Zambrano (disambiguation), multiple uses, including:Carlos Zambrano (born 1981), Venezuelan baseball pitcherCarlos Zambrano (boxer) (born 1984), Peruvian boxerCarlos Zambrano (footballer) (born 1989), Peruvian football midfielderCesar Zambrano (born 1984), American soccer midfielderDavid De La Mora Zambrano (born 1989), Mexican bantamweight boxerEduardo Zambrano (born 1966), Venezuelan baseball right fielder and first basemanFernando Zambrano (born 1949), Spanish footballerHenry Zambrano (born 1973), Colombian footballerHjalmar Zambrano (born 1971), Ecuadorian footballerJesús Zambrano (born 1989), Venezuelan model and actorJimmy Zambrano (born 1968), Colombian accordionist and multi-instrumentalistJorge Zambrano (born 1970), Venezuelan animatorJosmar Zambrano (born 1992), Venezuelan footballerJuan Gabriel Concepción Zambrano (born 1972), Spanish track and field athleteLorenzo Zambrano (1945–2014), Mexican business executive and philanthropistManolo Zambrano (born 1960), Spanish football midfielder, and managerMaría Zambrano (1904–1991), Spanish essayist, philosopher and academicMateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista (1727–1811), Spanish military leader in Colonial ChileMerly Zambrano (born 1981), Ecuadorian footballerMiguel Zambrano (born 1951), Peruvian wrestlerOctavio Zambrano (born 1958), Ecuadorian football (soccer) coachRaúl Zambrano (born 1969), Mexican guitaristRenzo Zambrano (born 1994), Venezuelan footballerRichard Zambrano (born 1967), Chilean footballerRoddy Zambrano (born 1978), Ecuadorian professional football refereeVíctor Zambrano (born 1975), Venezuelan baseball playerVicente Paúl Ambrosi Zambrano (born 1980), Ecuadorian footballerYamila Zambrano (born 1986), Cuban judokaKim Zambrano, Fire Department of New York paramedic, played by Kim Raver, on American television series Third Watch, seen on NBC from 1999 to 2005; she appeared in first five seasons, first episode of season six, and cameo in May 6, 2005 finale
