Garza

:"Distinguish from Gaza."Garza is a Galician noble surname and the Spanish language equivalent of heron. Garza has also become a part of many placenames.

Garza was the surname of many Sephardic Jews that settled in Monterrey, Nuevo León and the name is still found in many famous people from that Mexican state. However not all Garzas are of Sephardic descent but of Galician descent with strong Catholic roots. Other Garzas settled in the neighboring states of Coahuila in Mexico and Texas in the United States.

From Monterrey

Governors of Nuevo León

* Arturo B. de la Garza – governor of Nuevo León (1943–1949)
* Blas de la Garza y Falcón – governor of Nuevo León (1681)
* Diódoro dela Garza – governor of Nuevo León (1916)
* Genaro Garza García – governor of Nuevo León (1871)
* Generoso Chapa Garza – governor of Nuevo León (1929)
* Juan Nepomuceno de la Garza y Evía – governor of Nuevo León (1835–1837 and 1845–1846).
* Lázaro Garza Ayala – governor of Nuevo León (1869)
* Pablo A. de la Garza – governor of Nuevo León (1915 and 1916)
* Simón de la Garza Melo – governor of Nuevo León (1865)

Other people

* Aarón Sáenz Garza – a politician
* Eugenio Garza Lagüera – a multi-millionaire, former owner of the world's second Coca-Cola bottler (FEMSA)
* Eugenio Garza Sada – a multi-millionaire and philanthropist, father of Garza Lagüera and founder of the ITESM
* Captain Francisco de la Garza Falcón – one of the founders of the city
* Héctor Garza – a professional wrestler
* Captain Lucas Garcia – one of the founders of the city
* Mauricio Fernández Garza – a politician, former mayor of San Pedro Garza García
* Teresa García de Madero – a politician
* Manuel Uribe Garza, One of the Heaviest People
* Hector Garza - Writer and Poet
* Rafael Garza - Philanthropist

Places

* San Nicolás de los Garza – a town in the metropolitan area of Monterrey
* San Pedro Garza García – a town in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, the wealthiest city in Latin America

From Coahuila

People

* Aarón Sáenz Garza – a politician
* Jaime Garza – an actor
* José María Garza Gallán – a politician, former governor of Coahuila
* Mariana Garza – an actress, sister of Jaime
* Venustiano Carranza Garza – President of Mexico

Places

* Garza Galán – a town in Coahuila, Mexico

From Texas

People

* Ed Garza – former mayor of San Antonio, TX
* H. Josh Garza – Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Great Auk Wireless, a Vermont-based wireless Internet service provider.
* Cayetano Garza – an American comic designer and illustrator
* Emilio M. Garza – an American judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
* Henry Garza – Guitarist and vocalist in Los Lonely Boys
* Jojo Garza – Bass player and vocalist in Los Lonely Boys
* Ringo Garza – Drummer and vocalist in Los Lonely Boys
* Juan Garza – an American murderer, executed under the death penalty in 2001
* Kika de la Garza – an American congressperson
* Omar Garza – saxophonist for Monkies Doin' It
* Tony Garza – a Mexican American politician, current ambassador of the United States to Mexico and husband of María Asunción Aramburuzabala, the richest woman in Mexico.
* Don Daniel Saenz Garza – Texas Heritage Hall of Fame cowboy/rancher of South Texas. Heir to La Sal de Colorada Spanish Land Grant.
* Jacob Garza– An american son of Robert and Jessica Garza. Residents of El Paso Texas.
* Daniel Patrick Garza III – Professional musician, grandson of Don Daniel Saenz Garza.
* Blas Maria de la Garza Falcón – one of the pioneers/colonizers of the upper Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
* Reynaldo G. Garza – the first Mexican American federal judge in the United States.
* Gustavo Garza, Brownsville Justice of the Peace
* Mariana Garza, Sister of Omar Garza

Places

* Rio Grande City, Texas - A city along the banks of the Rio Grande River in Starr County founded in the mid 1700s by the Garza family whom were given Spanish Land Grants and were Spanish conquistadors. The same Garza families had also settled across the river in Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
* Garza County, Texas - a county in the Texas Panhandle.
* Garceno, Texas - A community in Starr County, Texas named after a family, by the last name of Garza, who settled there.
* Santa Elena, Texas - A ranching community in Starr County, Texas founded by the Garza and Saenz families.
* La Gloria, Texas - A ranching community in Starr County, Texas co-founded by the Garza and Saenz families.

Other

* Garza – One of the Comecrudan languages spoken in Texas (United States) and Tamaulipas (Mexico).

People

* Alana de la Garza – an American actress
* Ale Garza – an American comic artist
* Bernardo de la Garza – a Mexican politician and former candidate to president of Mexico
* Gabriel Garza – a wealthy founder of the town, Garza Gonzalez
* Juan de la Garza – a Mexican javelin thrower
* Matt Garza – a Major League Baseball player for the Tampa Bay Rays
* Rudy Garza – an American Myspace.com personality and all-around good guy www.myspace.com/rudygarza
* Trenton Garza – The first Junior Mayor of a City Council for the United States
* Garza Alexander Wooton, I, II, III – Three Men from Texas with the 1st name Garza, belived to be the only men with this first name in the United States.

Places

* Garza – the capital of the Sarmiento Department in Argentina
* Garza – village on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica
* Garza – river at Brescia in Italy
*Los Garza – small pueblo in Mexico
*Garza Gonzalez – a town near Cerralvo, Nuevo Leon in Mexico.