Meaning of the surname Cárdenas
Cárdenas is a Spanish surname of the from a place type meaning "bluish-purple places". It is one of the 200 most common surnames in Mexico. Lázaro Cárdenas, president 1934-1940.
Taken from a town, region, or landscape feature in Spain, or later in Mexico: Castillo (castle), Rivera (riverbank), Navarro (from Navarre), Ibarra (Basque valley).
In Mexico a person carries two surnames, the father's and then the mother's, so Cárdenas appears as either half of a pair: Cárdenas García, López Cárdenas. Read how the two-surname system works.