where does the last name pena come from
Peña (surname) Pe単a or de la Pe単a is a Spanish habitation surname. The origin of the surname can be traced directly to the Middle Ages. The earliest public record of the surname dates to the 13th century in the Valley de Mena (Burgos) in the Kingdom of Castile. The origin of the last name is in present-day Galicia, Spain. The Pe単as lived, originally, near a cliff or rocky land. Records indicate that the name derives from the Spanish word pe単a meaning "rock," "crag" or "cliff."[2]
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. This was adopted from the name given by French colonists. "Des Moines" (pronounced [de.mwan] ( listen), formerly French pronunciation: ​[de.mwɛn]) translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks". The historian Virgil Vogel claimed that the name was derived from Moingona, the Algonquian clan name for "Loon," one of the clans of the local Native American people.[16]