Famous people named Herrera

Golden Age Spain

• Juan de Herrera (1530–1597), architect and mathematician who completed the monastery-palace of El Escorial for Philip II and gave his name to the austere Herrerian style.
• Fernando de Herrera (c. 1534–1597), Sevillian poet nicknamed "El Divino".

Fashion and dance

Carolina Herrera (born 1939), born in Caracas, founded her fashion house in New York in 1981 and dressed several First Ladies. Paloma Herrera (born 1975), from Buenos Aires, was a principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre for two decades.

Football and cycling

• Helenio Herrera (1910–1997), the Franco-Argentine coach whose Inter Milan won two European Cups in the 1960s.
• Ander Herrera (born 1989), Spanish midfielder for Athletic Bilbao, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
• Héctor Herrera (born 1990), Mexican international midfielder.
• Luis Herrera (born 1961), Colombian climber who won the 1987 Vuelta a España.

Scholars, priests and boxers

The Mexican biologist Alfonso L. Herrera (1868–1942) pioneered research into the origins of life, and the Spanish cardinal Ángel Herrera Oria (1886–1968) directed the Madrid Catholic daily El Debate before his ordination. The Venezuelan artist Arturo Herrera (born 1959) is known for collage, and Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera (born 1983) for the band and series RBD. In sport, Cuban boxer Ángel Herrera Vera (born 1957) won two Olympic gold medals, and Venezuelan baseball player Alex Herrera (born 1976) pitched in the major leagues.

Public service

José Joaquín de Herrera (1792–1854) served three non-consecutive terms as president of Mexico between 1844 and 1851. Silvestre S. Herrera (1917–2007), a Mexican-American soldier, received the Medal of Honor for actions in France in 1945.

Herrera comes from Latin ferraria, an ironworks, and from several places of that name, so its bearers are many families. Heraldic arms belonged to particular lines. Our Herrera coat of arms page covers the meaning, and Herrera family history and genealogy explains how to research your branch.