Looking at the TV program Finding your roots https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/watch/episodes/mexican-roots , it says that Mario Lopez is a descendant of Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Temi%C3%B1o_de_Ba%C3%B1uelos

Is this conquistador a descendant of Spanish royal families?

Thanks for the help,
O. Guionneau

On Monday, February 14, 2022 at 11:01:54 PM UTC-8, Olivier wrote:
> Looking at the TV program Finding your roots https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/watch/episodes/mexican-roots , it says that Mario Lopez is a descendant of Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Temi%C3%B1o_de_Ba%C3%B1uelos
>
> Is this conquistador a descendant of Spanish royal families?

I don't know. The Wikipedia page traces as far as his grandparents, and most of the surnames belong to families that are rather obscure. The only surnames I am familiar with among the lot are Velasco, which has very deep roots in the Basque lands of Castile, and his wife's Mendoza. Even recognizing these names, there is no basis for concluding whether or not there is a royal connection. In most families, some branches marry well while others do not, and it would depend from which branch the person derived, plus in Iberia you also have the confounding problem of onomastic assimilation - the practice whereby Jewish or Moorish converts, or Mozarabs looking to assimilate, simply adopted 'typical' naming styles of the dominant culture. An Isaac Abulafia might become Lope Iniguez de Mendoza, with no connection to the noble de Mendoza clan, so bearing a recognizabel surname is no indication one shares a descent with the notable family of that name. As such, I am left with insufficient information to reach any conclusion.

taf

On Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 8:25:13 AM UTC-8, taf wrote:
> On Monday, February 14, 2022 at 11:01:54 PM UTC-8, Olivier wrote:
> > Looking at the TV program Finding your roots https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/watch/episodes/mexican-roots , it says that Mario Lopez is a descendant of Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Temi%C3%B1o_de_Ba%C3%B1uelos
> >
> > Is this conquistador a descendant of Spanish royal families?
> I don't know. The Wikipedia page traces as far as his grandparents, and most of the surnames belong to families that are rather obscure. The only surnames I am familiar with among the lot are Velasco, which has very deep roots in the Basque lands of Castile, and his wife's Mendoza. Even recognizing these names, there is no basis for concluding whether or not there is a royal connection. In most families, some branches marry well while others do not, and it would depend from which branch the person derived, plus in Iberia you also have the confounding problem of onomastic assimilation - the practice whereby Jewish or Moorish converts, or Mozarabs looking to assimilate, simply adopted 'typical' naming styles of the dominant culture. An Isaac Abulafia might become Lope Iniguez de Mendoza, with no connection to the noble de Mendoza clan, so bearing a recognizabel surname is no indication one shares a descent with the notable family of that name. As such, I am left with insufficient information to reach any conclusion.
>
> taf

Through Baltasar Temino de Banuelos, Mr. Mario Lopez is descended from Spanish nobility and Royalty. His De Velasco lines make him a descendant of some kings of Aragon, Leon, Galicia, Castile, and Navarre. Through shared, Mario Lopez is a very distant cousin of mine. :)