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The Portugues surname D'Cruz is an apocopated form of the Portugues/Spanish surname De la Cruz and is of two distint origins. In the first place, it is of toponymic origin, being derived from the place name where the original bearer once lived or held land. In his instance, the surname De la Cruz is composed of three elements, the preposition "De" meaning "from" (often found before toponym or locative surnames). The feminine article "la", meaning "the" and "Cruz", which is directly derived from the place name Cruz which is located in the following Spanish provinces: La Coruna, Ovieda, albacebem santa Cruz de Tenerifem Salamanca and Cuenca. Thus, the surname D'Cruz signifies "one from Cruz". Alternatively, it may be of locative originin being derived from the topograohic or man made feature near which the initial bearer once lived. In this case, de la Cruz literally means "of the Cross", being again composed by the three elements studied above ("de", "la", "Cruz"). This time, the third element, meaning "Cross" derives directly from the Portugues word "Cruz", from the latin "Crux, Crusis", meaning "cross". The name here was applied to identify a person who lived near a cross. Amongst the variants of the surname D'Cruz are De Cruz, de la Cruz and Cruces. References to this surname or to a variant include the well known Bernardo de la Cruz, the illustrious Portugues historian who lived during the sixteenth century, and the also well known ramon de la Cruz, the Spanish writer (1731-1794) born in Madrid. It is also worth mentioning a family by the name of de la Cruz, whose ancestral house was located in the region of Castille and who are found listed amongst thenobility of Spain in the Armorial General Rietstap.