Macias (or more commonly Macías) is a Spanish surname found to varying degrees in Europe and Latin America. Within Spain, it can be found in the northwestern regions of Spain, specifically Galicia and Leon. In Mexico, there are concentrations in Los Altos de Jalisco, Tamaulipas, and along the Texas-Mexico border.

There is no singular theory as to the origin of Macías. A long-standing argument over its origin revolves around whether or not it is of a Sephardi origin. Some argue that Macías originates from the Spanish version of the Hebraic term for the Messiah, while others hold that Macías (pronounced [maˈθias] within Spain) actually is the Spanish version of the Biblical name, Matias or Matthew. Given that the Sephardim used surnames that were in many cases identical to those of their Gentile neighbors, it can be reasoned that certain Macías members were Sephardi without the surname Macias being exclusively Sephardi.

According to John Woodward (with reference to the Heraldic coat of arms):^[1] "Dice, Cards, and other Instruments of Amusement.--Gules, three dice in perspective argent, marked (for six in front, three on the sinister side, two on the top) sable, is the coat of Mathias in England; of a family of the same name in France, and of Quintana in Spain. For the former families the allusion is clear to the 'lot' cast by which St. Matthias^[2] was chosen to the office of the Apostolate. Macías, in Spain, similarly bears: Gules, six dice (two, two, and two) all marked for sixes sabel (Piferrer, Nobiliario de España, vol. ii., No. 1113)."^[3]

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 43.8% of all known bearers of the surname Macías were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:703), 17.1% of Ecuador (1:230), 13.2% of the United States (1:6,772), 8.8% of Spain (1:1,314), 6.3% of Colombia (1:1,873), 2.3% of Cuba (1:1,229), 1.8% of Argentina (1:5,917) and 1.8% of Venezuela (1:4,269).

In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:1,314) in the following regions:

• 1. Extremadura (1:346)
• 2. Andalusia (1:575)
• 3. Canary Islands (1:882)
• 4. Castile and León (1:1,309)

In Ecuador, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:230) in the following provinces:

• 1. Manabí (1:52)
• 2. Los Ríos (1:105)
• 3. Guayas (1:179)
• 4. Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas (1:184)
• 5. Esmeraldas (1:214)

In Mexico, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:703) in the following states:^[4]

• 1. Aguascalientes (1:73)
• 2. Zacatecas (1:204)
• 3. Jalisco (1:231)
• 4. Colima (1:305)
• 5. Coahuila (1:358)
• 6. Durango (1:373)
• 7. Chihuahua (1:384)
• 7. Nayarit (1:386)
• 8. Guanajuato (1:459)
• 9. Baja California (1:478)
• 10. Nuevo León (1:594)

People

• Saint Juan Macias, 17th-century Spanish Dominican, died in Peru
• Manuel Macías y Casado, Spanish general, governor of Puerto Rico
• Macías O Namorado (Macías the Enamoured), a 14th-century Galician troubadour
• Nathan Macias, former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Comal County
• Francisco Macías Nguema, former president of Equatorial Guinea
• Francisco Macías Valadéz
• Ricardo Macías Picavea, Spanish writer, journalist, and philosopher
• Carlos Fuentes Macías, Mexican writer
• Emilio Macias, Filipino politician

References