<P> Vasquez in Gascon and Spanish, probably under the influence of Basqu and Aquitanian, a language related to old Basque and spoken in Gascony in Antiquity (similarly the Latin / w / evolved into / v / in French, Italian and other languages). Other roots describe it as a Galician surname, in use not only in Galicia but all over Spanish - speaking world . </P> <P> To a lesser extent it also occurs in Portuguese - speaking countries, where Vasco as surname predominates . Vasquez means "(son) of Vasco" and Vasco comes from the pre-Roman latinized name "Velascus" - a name of uncertain origin and meaning, but probably meaning Basque or Iberian . In Galician - Portuguese the pre-Roman name becomes Velascu> Veascu> Vaasco> Vasco . </P> <P> It is known that in some Spanish - speaking countries, families of non-Iberian ancestry have also adopted this surname . In Colombia and Argentina, there have been instances of "Watzke" and "Watzka" families, of German - Czech descent, Hispanicizing their surnames to "Vasquez". The surname was chosen as being the one most closely resembling their former name; in Italy a similar phenomenon was noted with some "Watzke" changing to "Vasco". </P> <P> There are also Spanish cognate surnames Velasco or Velázquez). </P>

Where does the last name vazquez originate from