Medrano

Medrano is a gender-neutral Spanish surname of Basque origin that means "abundance, to grow, to prosper, or to improve". It is a surname of high nobility established in the old Kingdoms of Navarre, Aragon, Castile, France, etc. They are all descendants of their progenitor, Prince Andrés Vélaz de Medrano.

Medrano may refer to:

People
Notable people with the surname include:
 * María Ramírez de Medrano, Lady of Fuenmayor, wealthy noblewoman in the 12th century, founder of the Commandery, hospital and convent of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete to protect pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, donated some of her lands to the Order of Saint John
 * Juan Martínez de Medrano 'The Elder', regent of the Kingdom of Navarre in 1328 AD, lord of Arroniz, Sartaguda and Villatuerta, ricohombre of Navarre
 * Diego López de Medrano y Zúñiga, a noble and lord of Fuenmayor, Agoncillo and Almarza in the Kingdom of Castile in the 14th and 15th centuries, great-great grandson of the regent Juan Martinez de Medrano 'The Elder'
 * Juan Vélaz de Medrano IV, lord of Igúzquiza, Orendáin, Learza, knight and royal chamberlain of King Charles III of Navarre in 1412 and King John II of Aragon and Navarre in 1432. Juan was targeted in a rebellion from his domain in Orendáin
 * Jaime Vélaz de Medrano y Echauz, captain of the standing army of the king, alcaide and mayor of Amaiur-Maya, knight in the 15th and 16th century
 * Luisa de Medrano, poet, philosopher, writer, and the first female professor in Spain at the University of Salamanca in the 16th century
 * Juan Bravo de Medrano, I Count of Santa Rosa, Maestre de campo, Lieutenant Capitán General of the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia, and the first noble to obtain a title in Zacatecas, Mexico in 1691. He owned large mining and agriculture lands and haciendas in and around Zacatecas. He is the great-great-grandson of Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos, one of the founders of the mines and city of Zacatecas, and Cristóbal de Oñate, founder of the city of Guadalajara in 1531
 * Julián Iñiguez de Medrano, poet, playwright, novelist, knight, explorer, author of La Silva Curiosa, courtier of the Kings of Navarre and Queen Marguerite de Valois during the Spanish Golden Age
 * Tomás Fernández de Medrano, divisero, mayor and lord of Valdeosera, 16th century author of the Mixed Republic (1602), the Secretary of State and War of the Dukes of Savoy, knight in the Order of Saint John, secretary of the Holy Chapters and Assemblies of Castile, Manager of the Grand Prior of Castilla San Juan and The Most Reverend patron and master of the convent of Saint John of Acre in the town of Salinas de Añana
 * Diego Alfonso de Medrano, prominent alchemist tried by the Spanish inquisition. He practiced alchemical medicine in Madrid. He was the tutor of the Duke of Infantado
 * Francisco Medrano (poet), Spanish lyric poet from Seville, considered one of the best of the Spanish imitators of Horace
 * Francisco de Medrano y Bazán, knight of the Order of Calatrava, rector and professor at Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, judge and magistrate of Granada, prosecutor and councilor of the Royal Council of Castile
 * Diego Ros de Medrano, bishop, governor captain general of the Kingdom of Galicia, a Doctor of Theology, and a professor at the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso. He served as a bishop in the Diocese of Ourense for 20.5 years
 * Sebastian Francisco de Medrano, president and founder of the Medrano Academy (Poetic Academy of Madrid), Spanish Golden Age poet, playwright, priest, treasurer of Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, 3rd Duke of Feria
 * José Velázquez de Medrano, a Navarrese noble and artist in Logroño and the most significant silversmith of his time during the Spanish Golden Age.
 * Juan de Espinosa Medrano, Peruvian author, sacred preacher, professor of theology at the Seminary of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco, playwright, poet, etc. Juan is the most prominent figure of the Literary Baroque of Peru and one of the most important intellectuals from Colonial Spanish America, author of the most famous literary apologetic discourse in the Americas in the 17th century: the Apologético en favor de Don Luis de Góngora (1662)
 * Sebastián Fernández de Medrano, General of Battle, chief engineer of the kingdom, maestro de campo, president and sole-director of the first modern Royal Military and Mathematics Academy of Brussels in Europe during the reign of Charles II of Spain and briefly Philip V of Spain
 * Alonso Molina de Medrano, judge and advisor of the Kingdom of Castile in the 17th century, inquisitor of Córdoba and Zaragoza, professor at the University of Seville, Councilor of the Indies, the first counselor and chamberlain in the Chamber of the Indies
 * Juan Antonio Molina de Medrano, prosecutor of the Royal Court of Seville in the 17th century, counselor of the Royal Council of Navarre in Plaza de Castilian, magistrate of the Audiencia of Galicia and magistrate of Crime of the Chancery of Granada in the Empire of Spain
 * Martín Juan de Castejón y Medrano, V lord of Velamazán, Riotuerto, Los Olmillos, of the Strong House of Arias and La Serna, Gentleman of the Chamber of His Majesty, Perpetual Councilman of Soria and Almazán. He was Captain of Infantry in the militias of Agreda, leading them during the siege of Fuenterrabia in 1638
 * Garcia de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios, Minister of Castile and the Indies, Minister of the Treasury, professor at the university of Salamanca, knight of the order of Santiago, regent of Navarre and Seville in the 17th century
 * Garcia de Medrano y Mendizábal, I Count of Torrubia, lord of San Gregorio, rector of the University of Salamanca, alcalde, oider, alderman, and a member of the Council of Orders, son of García de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios
 * Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda, regent of Navarre in 1702, knight in the Order of Santiago, professor in Valladolid, judge of Vizcaya and its lordship, oidor of the Valladolid Chancery and the Council of Orders
 * Pedro Velaz de Medrano y Manso de Zúñiga, II Lord of Tabuerniga, captain general of the Armada de Barlovento and custodian of the Fleet of New Spain, father of the I Marquess of Tabuerniga
 * Antonio Vélaz de Medrano y Altamirano, I Marquess of Tabuérniga, governor of the strategic city of Nieuwpoort in Flanders and Sergeant General of Battle, knight of the Order of Santiago, granted the Marquessate of Tabuérniga
 * José Joaquín Vélaz de Medrano y Gante, 1st Marquess of Fontellas, 7th Viscount of Azpa, Lieutenant of the Royal Spanish Guards, lord of Autol, Knight of the Order of Malta and representative to the General Courts for the military arm
 * José de Elío y Ayanz de Navarra de Esparza Artieda y Velaz de Medrano, I Marquess of Vessolla, served as the equerry and royal steward to Queen Mariana de Austria, maestre de campo in the Tercios de Navarra, captain of infantry in the valley of Urraúl, nobleman of Navarra, mayor of Pamplona, and a representative of the military estate in the Kingdom of Navarre in 1685
 * Giovanni Antonio Medrano, Major Royal Governor of Mathematics for the Kingdom of Naples, and architect, General of Battle and teacher of Charles III and his brothers, the infantes of Spain
 * Francisco Antonio de Agurto Salcedo Medrano, First Marquess of Gastañaga, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1685 and 1692, Viceroy of Catalonia
 * Jaime Vélaz de Medrano y Barros, III Marquess of Tabuérniga, conspirator in the court of Philip V of Spain
 * Sebastián de la Cuadra Medrano y Llarena y Llano, 1st Marquess of Villarías, Chief Prime Minister (First Secretary of State) of Spain between 1736 and 1746 during the reign of Philip V of Spain, prominent co-founder of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1744, and obtained royal protection in 1738 for the foundation of the Royal Academy of History
 * Andrés López de Medrano, nobleman, educator, doctor, lawyer, journalist, poet, politician and the first enlightened philosopher of the Dominican Republic. Author of the Treaty of Logic, Elements of Modern Philosophy (1814)
 * Diego de Medrano y Treviño, Spanish military officer, a liberal politician during the reign of Ferdinand VII, and a technical essayist reformer. Medrano was the Minister of the Interior of Spain (1822), Senator of Spain during the reign of Isabel II, founder of the first Royal Basque Economic Societies of Friends of the Country (1834), and the founder of the Savings Banks of Spain
 * Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño, Chief of Engineers, artilleryman, brigade sergeant major of the coast of Granada and Spanish Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers, notable for his extensive military service during the Peninsular War
 * Gabino Gainza Fernandez de Medrano, Captain General of Chile and the Kingdom of Guatemala, he declared Independence for the Kingdom of Guatemala on September 15, 1821 and became the first ruler of an independent and United Central America, extending from Soconusco (in Chiapas) through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica
 * Valentin Medrano Pérez, Dominican Republic politician and teacher of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). Elected in 2020, he is currently serving as the Senator of Independencia Province
 * Diego Medrano, Spanish poet, narrator and columnist
 * Orlando Montenegro Medrano, Nicaraguan president
 * Enric Casadevall Medrano, Andorran politician
 * José Alberto Medrano, Salvadoran general
 * Pedro Medrano, Argentine statesman and lawyer
 * Carlos Monge Medrano, Peruvian physician
 * Jose Domingo Medrano, Salvadoran doctor
 * Medrano Tamen, Cameroonian footballer
 * Francisco Medrano (footballer), Salvadoran football player
 * Héctor Medrano, Mexican football manager
 * Íngrid Medrano, Salvadoran wrestler
 * Rosa Medrano, Dominican volleyball player
 * Vivienne Medrano, American animator and voice actress

Places

 * Medrano, Spain, a municipality in La Rioja, Spain
 * Palace of Vélaz de Medrano, in Igúzquiza
 * Juan Espinoza Medrano District, a district in Peru
 * Medrano (Buenos Aires Underground), a metro station in Argentina
 * Medrano, a village in Mendoza, a province in the Cuyo region of Argentina
 * Palace of Medrano, in the city of Ciudad Real, Spain
 * Castle of Aguas Mansas, in the municipality of Agoncillo, La Rioja

Entertainment and media

 * Cirque Medrano, a French circus
 * General Medrano, a character in Quantum of Solace
 * La Silva Curiosa (The Curious Forest) by Julian Iñiguez de Medrano
 * Favores de las Musas (Favors of the Muses) by Sebastian Francisco de Medrano
 * Mista Republica (Mixed Republic) by Tomás Fernández de Medrano