where does the last name mendoza originate from
Mendoza (name) The name Mendoza means "cold mountain", derived from the Basque words mendi (mountain) and (h)otz (cold) + definite article '-a' (Mendoza being mendi+(h)otza). The original Basque form with an affricate sibilant (/ts/, Basque spelling /tz/) evolved in Spanish to the current form.
Pedro The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning "son of Peter" (compare with the English surname Peterson) is Pérez in Spanish, and Peres in Galician and Portuguese, Pires also in Portuguese, and Peiris in coastal area of Sri Lanka (where it originated from the Portuguese version), with all ultimately meaning "son of Pêro".