Calderón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calderón may refer to the following individuals:

• Alberto Calderón - Argentine mathematician.
• Felipe Calderón - President-elect of Mexico.
• Paco Calderón - Mexican political cartoonist.
• Felipe G. Calderón - Filipino constitutionalist.
• Ivan Calderón - Puerto Rican boxer.
• Ivan Calderón - Puerto Rican baseball player.
• José Calderón - Spanish basketball player, currently of the Toronto Raptors.
• Leticia Calderón - Mexican actress.
• Pedro Calderón de la Barca - Spanish poet.
• Rafael Ángel Calderón - Father and son Costa Rican presidents.
• Ramón Calderón - Real Madrid president.
• Sila María Calderón - Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Tego Calderón - Puerto Rican rapper.
• Vicente Calderón Stadium
• General Oscar Calderón Chief of Philippine National Police
• Menillo M. Calderón world wide seafarer

It may also refer to:

• The Spanish language name for the Pilot whale.

[edit] Surname Origin

The origins of the Calderón surname are quite varied, and difficult to verify. Legend holds that the first man to bear the name was called Fortun Ortiz Calderón. It is said that he was a still-born baby, and his parents, thinking him dead, placed him in a nearby caldron. The child "awoke" and alerted his parents with his cries. From then on, the last name Calderón (spanish for cauldron) was forever attached to him. This is said to have happened in the town of Nograro, Spain around the start of the 13th century.

Several sources continue to tell the tale of Fortun into old age. He is said to have been the illegitimate child of Fortun Sanchez de Salcedo, the sixth lord of Ayala. He went on to become a powerful knight and "ricohombre" of Castile in the service of King Alfonso X. His lands included the towns of Nograro, Oteo, Quincoces, Gorunde & Villamaderni. He had four children, Francisco (prior of San Juan convent), Sancho (comendador of San Juan, died fighting the moors and given credit for the family motto), Elvira and another daughter whose name has been lost. Fortun died after spending the last years of his life leading his clan in a war against the Angulo clan. His remains are said to be buried in the Santa Maria de Herrera monastery (between the towns of Aro and Miranda). Most of his story is told by his son-in-law Lope Garcia de Salazar (married Elvira), known as the first historian of Biscaya (present day Basque territory). Sadly, it is not believed that any of Fortun's sons had children or where able to carry on the family name.

Meanwhile, other historians dismiss this story as myth without fact. They consider a verifiable forebearer of the Calderón's to be Pedro Ruiz Calderón, born around 1213. He is first mentioned in the documents of the Abbey of Santa Maria Aguilar de Campoo, in the north part of the current province of Palencia near the border of Cantabria. He also had an extensive family, and I am still researching him.

It could be the name is associated with metalworkers who worked on cauldrons as the middle ages, it was quite common to give a man a name related to his profession.

Calderón its a very common surname between the descendants of Sephardi Jews, mainly those who migrated to Turkey.

Family Motto: I will die for the faith / Por la fe morire. Legend holds that Sancho Ortiz Calderón uttered these words as he refused to renounce his faith when captured by the invading moors.

[edit] External links

• Calderón Ancestry webpage