Amado
A Spanish and Portuguese surname from the given name Amado, meaning “loved” or “beloved.”
The #8,896 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,898 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Amado comes from the Romance personal name Amado, built on Latin amatus, the past participle of amare, “to love.” In plain terms, it means “loved,” “beloved,” or “dear.” As a surname, it likely began as an inherited family name from a forebear called Amado rather than as a place-name.
History
The name is well established in Iberian naming practice and appears in medieval records. One excerpt cites an early 11th-century reference to "Amado vicecomes" in Girona, suggesting the surname form was already in use by then. It remains most common in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions and later spread through migration to the Americas and elsewhere.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it comes from the Latin word for “loved,” Amado has the same emotional root as English words like amity and amiable.
From the historical record
“SAMAND. St. Amado, according to Camden. I should rather say St. Amand. ' SAMBOURNE. A hamlet in co. War- wick.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom