The Spanish surname Mendoza is a Basque habitational name from several places in the provinces of Alava and Biscay called Mendoza, named with Basque mendi meaning “mountain” and  otz meaning “cold.” The original bearers of the name Mendoza were the governors of the province of Granada, and highly influential in the creation of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Pedro de Mendoza, (1487 - 1537), the famous explorer, was the founder of Buenos Aires in 1530. The first recorded spelling of the family name is  Garcia Pedro de Mendoza, which was dated 1440, christened at Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Spain.

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