Ponce Family History

Spanish and French: from the medieval personal name Ponce ultimately from Pontius a Roman surname perhaps an ethnic name for someone from Pontus (named from Greek pontos ‘ocean’) in Asia Minor or an Italic cognate of Latin Quintus ‘fifth’ (i.e. ‘fifth-born’).

The name was borne by two 3rd-century Christian saints, a Carthaginian deacon and a martyr of Nice, but was not widely popular in the Middle Ages because of the inhibiting influence of the even more famous Pontius Pilate.

In some cases though, the surname may have been originally used for someone who had played the part of this character in a religious play.