A Spanish and French surname, Castaneda comes from the Latin term ‘castana’ and the Old French term ‘castanh’ which both mean chestnut. The name referred to a person with red or auburn hair or to someone working a chestnut grove. The spelling variations for Castaneda include Castanares, Castarede, Castan, Castanon, Castenda, Castagna and Castaneda. In Portugal the Castaneda name is spelled Castanheda. First settled in the Castile region of Spain those with Castaneda name resettled in Peru, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. Primarily in the city of London in England has there been any Castaneda families. Within the United States the Castaneda surname is found mainly in Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Colorado and Florida. Famous: Cacho Castaneda (singer and actor from Argentina), Maria “Movita” Castaneda (actress), Christian Castaneda (footballer from Chile), Carlos Castaneda (author), Juan Castaneda (champion fencer from Spain), German Villa Castaneda (footballer from Mexico), Patricia Castaneda (writer and actress from Columbia), Maureen Castaneda (Enron Corp. director) and Jorge Castaneda (President of Guatemala).