Apodaca
A Basque surname most likely taken from a place name in northern Spain.
The #3,202 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,371 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Apodaca is a locational surname, meaning it originally identified someone who came from the place called Apodaca in Álava, in the Basque Country of northern Spain. The place-name itself is generally treated as Basque in origin, though the deeper literal meaning is not fully secure. As with many Basque surnames, the family name was later carried far beyond its original locality.
History
The surname is associated with the Basque-speaking area of Spain and appears among surnames listed in regional onomastic works. Like many Spanish locational names, it spread through migration to other parts of Spain and, later, to the Americas. It is now found especially in Spanish-speaking communities, including the United States and Latin America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Apodaca is also the name of a municipality in Nuevo León, Mexico, which has helped keep the surname visible in modern times.
From the historical record
“sotegui, Antelo, Antequera, Antigüedad, Anti- llon, Antoñana , Anuncibay i, Añorbe, Apellaniz, Apodaca, Aragoncillo, Arana, Aranaz, Aranda, Arango, Aranguren, Aranzazu, Arañó, Araujo, Arbizu, Arboleya, Arboli, Arbos, Arbues, Arce, Arceniega, Arco, Arconada, Árdales, Ardanaz, Ardila, Arechaga, Arellano, Arenas …”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos