Quiroga is a Spanish surname; it originates from the valley and locality of Quiroga in the province of Lugo in the Galician region of Spain. Legend has it that in the year 715, a powerful knight defended the entrance to Galicia through the Valley of Quiroga from invasion by the Moors. As weapons, he used iron-tipped stakes which are the basis for the Quiroga coat-of-arms; five silver stakes (spears) positioned vertically on a green (sinople) background.
The first recorded name of the Quiroga lineage is that of Vasco De Quiroga born in the year 1218 during the reign of Ferdinand III of Castile, in the Valley of Quiroga. Branches from the house of Vasco De Quiroga extended through the districts of Monforte, Mondoñedo, Chantada, Quiroga, Lugo, and Sarria. New houses were established in these areas and also in the municipalities of Panton, Lancara, and Cesuras; the parishes of Espasantes, Carballedo, and Lamela; and extending through the regions of A Coruña and León in northern Spain.
Some students of Judaism in Galicia point out that the name Quiroga originated from the flower in Galicia that's called Queiroga by Sephardic Jews to avoid persecution during the Inquisition.