Alfaro
A Spanish surname most often linked to the place name Alfaro, with a possible secondary sense connected to a potter or maker of clay vessels in older Spanish usage.
The #975 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,642 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Alfaro is best understood as a Spanish habitational surname, originally identifying someone from the town of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. The place name itself is widely associated with Arabic influence in medieval Spain, though the exact original meaning is not fully settled. One older source also glosses Alfaro as a term for a craftsman who makes clay vessels, but that looks like a secondary or folk explanation rather than the main family-name origin.
History
The surname spread through Spain and later across the Spanish-speaking world, especially to the Americas. Because it matches a well-known Spanish place name, it was likely adopted independently by multiple families who had some connection to that locality. In modern usage it is a fairly common Hispanic surname, including in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Alfaro is also the name of a city in the La Rioja region of Spain, which helps explain why the surname is geographically rooted.
From the historical record
“altura, con los tallos i hojas verdosas i la flor blanca. Alfaro. El que tiene por oficio fabricar vacijas de barro. Alga. Planta ova, TE LOS APFLLIDOS 17”
— Diccionario de los apellidos