Having a surname based on a word that was introduced to the Spanish lexicon 1,000 years earlier by Moors does not mean that they had a high likelihood of being a descendant of Moors. The Moors did not even immigrate in high numbers to Spain. They controlled a large territory of Spain but their numbers were small in comparison to the populace. In 711 AD when the Moors invaded Spain surnames did not exist as they do today. Once Christians reconquered Spanish territory they did not rename all of the towns and cities. People began to use surnames about the same time of the reconquista and many times the surname was based on the place they were from. Since there were many places named Medina many families adopted the surname Medina. Most of these families were Christian families and therefore there was no reason to suspect these people of being Moriscos. Having a surname of Arabic origin should not cause an assumption of Moorish or Arabic ancestry.

Armando