Jiménez (surname)

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For other uses, see Jiménez (disambiguation).
"Ximenes" redirects here. For other uses, see Ximénez (disambiguation).
Jiménez
Language(s)Spanish
Origin
Word/nameSpanish
Region of originBasque Country, Spain
Other names
Variant form(s)Jimenes, Giménez, Gimenes, Ximénez, Ximenes, Ximenis, Eiximenis, Scimemi, Scimeni
Frequency Comparisons:[1]

Jiménez is a surname of Iberian origin, first appearing in the Basque lands.[2] Jiménez is a patronymic construction from the modern-styled given name Jimeno, plus the Spanish suffix -ez, meaning "son [of]". The root appears to stem from Basque semen ('son'), attested in the Aquitanian inscriptions as Sembeconnis and like forms. Variants of the surname include the archaic Ximénez, Ximenes, as well as Giménez, Gimenes, Jimenes, Chiménez, Chimenes, Seménez, Semenes, Ximenis or Eiximenis in Catalonia, in Sicilian Scimemi or Scimeni and the Neapolitan Chimenz or Chimenez. In Spanish orthography, the variations of Jiménez that end with a z are written with an acute accent on the second syllable. In English, all variations are commonly written without the diacritic.

In Portuguese orthography, there is no diacritic used for Ximenes.

Spelling[]

As the modern name Ximenes has an -es suffix, it is almost certainly of Portuguese, Galician or Old Spanish origin, as the orthographic change to -ez (and indeed, the consonant shift from X to J) was revised in Spain only in the late 18th century. This obviously was not the case in Portugal.

Other languages in Castilian-dominated lands like Aragon, Asturias, Galicia, etc. often retained the -es ending, and their descendants bear witness to this historical anomaly. In Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics, the ending -is is used instead of -es (or -ez), hence, the spelling Ximenis (or the variant with vowel epenthesis, Eiximinis or Eximenis).

Ximenes, as such, exists most commonly in Portugal, and in all of the ex-Portuguese Crown territories, especially in Brazil. Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Nobel Laureate from East Timor in 1996, and Brazilian actress, Mariana Ximenes, are prime examples of this historical difference.

Notable people[]

Giménez[]

Jimenes[]

Jiménez or Jimenez[]

Ximenes[]

Coat of arms of the Ximenes de Poissy family, a French dynasty of Portuguese origin. Their descendants also reside in Brazil.
  • Aurora Ximenes (born 1955), East Timorese politician
  • Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo (born 1948), Roman Catholic Bishop of East Timor, Nobel laureate
  • Claudio de Jesus Ximenes (contemporary), Supreme Court Chief Justice of East Timor
  • General Sir David Ximenes (died 1848), KCH, Berkshire magistrate, owner of stately home Bear Ash, youngest brother of Morris Ximenes
  • Didacus Ximenes (died 1560), Spanish monk, theologian, rector of the University of Salamanca
  • Ettore Ximenes (1855–1926), Italian sculptor
  • Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436–1517), Spanish Cardinal, inquisitor and statesman (called in his lifetime "Ximenes de Cisneros")
  • Francisco Ximenes de Texada (1703–1775), Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of St. John
  • Julio Ximenes Senior (1901–1975), Brazilian scientist, author, and World War II Army general
  • Leonardo Ximenes (1716–1786), Italian mathematician, engineer, astronomer and geographer
  • Mariana Ximenes (born 1981), Brazilian actress
  • Moäng Ratu Dona Ines Ximenes da Silva of Flores (c. 1700), lady sovereign and member of the Portuguese Ximenes da Silva ruling family of the island-principality of Flores, in present-day Indonesia
  • Morris Ximenes (c. 1762–1830), English Jewish businessman who converted to Christianity
  • Orion Ximenes Filho (born 1945), Brazilian actor, voice-over artist
  • Paulo César Ximenes (born 1943), Brazilian economist
  • Sebastiano Ximenes (c. late–16th century), Italian banker of Portuguese origin in Florence, patron of the arts
  • Vicente T. Ximenes (1919–2014), Mexican-American civil rights pioneer and politician

Ximénez or Ximenez[]

  • Fortún Ximénez (unknown–1533), Spanish sailor and founder of first known European settlement in Baja California
  • José Ximénez (1601–1672), a Spanish organist and composer

Eiximenis[]

Pseudonyms[]

Fictional persons[]

  • José Jiménez (character), fictional character created by comedian Bill Dana
  • Colonel Jimenez, a corrupt officer in the San Theodoran military in the fictional work The Broken Ear, part of the Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
  • Marcelo Jimenez, head doctor at Beacon Mental Hospital in the 2014 survival horror game The Evil Within
  • Lori Jiménez, a child character from the anime series, Transformers: Cybertron

Ruling dynasty[]

The Jiménez dynasty is a name sometimes given the dynasty that in 905 became kings of Pamplona, eventually expanding control to most of Christian Spain.

References[]

  1. ^ "Jiménez Surname Meaning and Distribution". forebears.co.uk.
  2. ^ Domingo de la Ripa (1675). Defensa historica por la antigvedad del reyno de Sobrarbe. por los herederos de Pedro Lanaja y Lamarca. pp. 142–.

External links[]

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