Famous people named Ortega

Ideas and enterprise

José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) was Spain's most influential 20th-century philosopher; The Revolt of the Masses is still widely read. In business, Amancio Ortega Gaona (born 1936), from León province, co-founded Inditex, the Galician group behind Zara, and became one of the world's richest people.

Film, dance and music

• Jenna Ortega (born 2002), the actress of Wednesday.
• Kenny Ortega (born 1950), director and choreographer of High School Musical and Dirty Dancing's dance sequences.
• Sergio Ortega (1938–2003), Chilean composer of the protest song "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido".

Public life

• José Francisco Ortega (1734–1798), soldier and scout of the 1769 Portolá expedition and an early settler of Spanish California.
• Daniel Ortega (born 1945), president of Nicaragua, and his brother Humberto Ortega (born 1947), a military leader.
• Katherine D. Ortega (born 1934), 38th Treasurer of the United States, whose signature appeared on US banknotes.
• Ivonne Ortega (born 1972), governor of Yucatán.

Arts and the ring

Ortega is a name of the bullring as well as the stage: José Gómez Ortega (1895–1920), known as Joselito, is remembered as one of the greatest Spanish matadors, and José Ortega Cano (born 1953) followed in the 1980s. In New Mexico, the santero José Benito Ortega (1858–1941) carved devotional figures that are now museum pieces. Music adds the jazz saxophonist Anthony Ortega (1928–2022), Christian singer-songwriter Fernando Ortega (born 1957) and Canadian country singer Lindi Ortega (born 1980). The Spanish painter Manuel Ortega (1921–2014) and Filipino figure skater and actress Ashley Ortega (born 1998) show how far the name has travelled.

Sport

Argentine playmaker Ariel Ortega (born 1974), known as "El Burrito", played at three World Cups.

Ortega comes from several Spanish villages named after the nettle, so these bearers belong to many unrelated families, and arms belonged to particular lines rather than to the surname. Read more on our Ortega coat of arms page, or start with Ortega family history and genealogy.