Aguayo
A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place-name, with roots in the Iberian toponymic tradition.
The #2,799 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,978 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Aguayo is generally understood as a habitational surname, referring to someone from a place called Aguayo or from an area identified by that name. The name is found in Spanish surname lists alongside many other place-based surnames, which fits the common Iberian pattern of adopting a locality as an inherited family name. The deeper meaning of the place-name itself is not certain from the excerpts alone.
History
The surname is established in Spain and later appears in Spanish-speaking communities in the Americas. As with many toponymic surnames, it likely became hereditary as family names stabilized in the late medieval and early modern periods. It is also found in modern U.S. records, reflecting later migration from Spanish-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the surname is toponymic, it may once have signaled simple geographic origin rather than family relationship or occupation.
From the historical record
“Plutarco Hidalgo Pedro Contreras Arias Marcos Aguayo | Maria L. de González Carmela Reyes J. Alberto Astudillo”
— Diccionario de los apellidos