Is it "Mendez" a jewish last name?

I was looking some information about the sphardic pedigrees, and seems that "Mendez" is a Sphardic last name, is it true, and how can I find out more information about this?

Is it "Mendez" a jewish last name?
Surname: Mendez


Recorded in several spelling forms including Menendez, Menendes, Mendez, Melendez, and Mendes, this famous Spanish and Portuguese surname is of German origins. The German tribe known as the Vizigoths occupied Spain for three centuries from about 410 a.d., and left behind many names which are now found world-wide as surnames. In this case the development is from the compound personal name of the pre 5th century 'Hermenegild', from the elements 'ermen' meaning 'entire' and 'gild', a present. This name it is said, was born by an original member of the Visigoth royal family, who converted to Christianity, and was subsequently canonised. As a result of the ensuing publicity, the name became even more popular in the Middle Ages. Early examples of the surname recording taken from authentic church and civil registers include Pedro Valdes Menendes, who married Josepha de Santiesteban, at San Miguel, Arcangel, Mexico, on March 28th 1706, and Jazinto Menendez, christened at the same place, on February 2nd 1773. Antonia Mendez was an early recording in California, being christened at Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, Monterey, on July 9th 1868. The coat of arms granted in Spain has the blazon of a silver field, a blue lion rampant, collared in gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pedro Francisco Menendez, which was dated December 29th 1642, at Plasencia, Caceres, Spain, during the reign of King Phillip 11 of Spain, Emperor of Mexico, 1621 - 1665. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.





http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...





mendez Name Meaning and History


Galician (M茅ndez): patronymic from the personal name Mendo (see Mendes, of which this is the Galician equivalent).





http://www.ancestry.com/facts/mendez-civ...
Reply:No "Mendez" is not a "Jewish" name, although it may be the name of some Jewish people.





Mendez


Recorded in several spelling forms including Menendez, Menendes, Mendez, Melendez, and Mendes, this famous Spanish and Portuguese surname is of German origins. The German tribe known as the Vizigoths occupied Spain for three centuries from about 410 a.d., and left behind many names which are now found world-wide as surnames. In this case the development is from the compound personal name of the pre 5th century 'Hermenegild', from the elements 'ermen' meaning 'entire' and 'gild', a present. This name it is said, was born by an original member of the Visigoth royal family, who converted to Christianity, and was subsequently canonised. As a result of the ensuing publicity, the name became even more popular in the Middle Ages. Early examples of the surname recording taken from authentic church and civil registers include Pedro Valdes Menendes, who married Josepha de Santiesteban, at San Miguel, Arcangel, Mexico, on March 28th 1706, and Jazinto Menendez, christened at the same place, on February 2nd 1773. Antonia Mendez was an early recording in California, being christened at Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, Monterey, on July 9th 1868. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pedro Francisco Menendez, which was dated December 29th 1642, at Plasencia, Caceres, Spain, during the reign of King Phillip 11 of Spain, Emperor of Mexico, 1621 - 1665.





Mendez : Last name origin %26amp; meaning:


Galician (M茅ndez): patronymic from the personal name Mendo (see Mendes, of which this is the Galician equivalent).


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Mendes : Last name origin %26amp; meaning:


Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Mendo, a reduced form of Menendo (see Menendez).


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Menendez : Last name origin %26amp; meaning:


Spanish (Men茅ndez): patronymic from the medieval personal name Mendendo, a hypercorrected form of the Visigothic personal name Hermenegild, composed of the elements ermen, irmen 鈥榳hole鈥? 鈥榚ntire鈥?+ gild 鈥榯ribute鈥? This personal name was borne by a 6th-century member of the Visigothic royal house, who was converted from Arianism to the Catholic faith and became an enormously popular saint, as a result of which the personal name was very common in Spain in the Middle Ages.
Reply:From the standpoint of your context, yes there were many Sephardic Jews named Mendez. But it wasn't exclusive to the Sephardic community and it was just as much a Cathlic name as it was Jewish. To be accurate, it is a Spanish name that was adopted by many Sephardim.