Cárdenas (surname)
Cárdenas is a Spanish surname which comes from a Noble house of Spain belonging to the low nobility. The origin of this surname can be found at the beginnings of the 13th century. It was given to Don Sancho López de Haro, grandson of Don Lope Díaz de Haro, IX Lord of Viscay. Don Sancho was given the title of I Lord of the villa of Cárdenas, in la Rioja, after his role in the battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212. After him, his descendants inherited the surname.
Many of these Cárdenas people held important positions of influence in the Castillian politics through most of the late Middle Ages. As an example, we can find members of the Cárdenas house as knights of the order of Calatrava, from the 13th to the 15th centuries, and also members like Don Alonso de Cárdenas, last Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, or Don Gutierre de Cárdenas, Mayor Treasurer of the Kingdom of Castille.
One of the most famous members of the Cárdenas family is Garci López de Cárdenas, Spanish conquistador of the 16th century and the first European who discovered the Grand Canyon in Colorado.
