Asunción
A Spanish-language surname and place-name originally meaning “the Assumption,” usually referring to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The #8,209 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,384 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Asunción comes from Spanish asunción, “assumption,” ultimately from Latin assumptio, “a taking up” or “assumption.” As a surname, it is usually taken from a devotional or place-name source rather than from an occupational or nickname origin. In Spanish-speaking naming traditions, it may point to a family connection with a town, parish, or religious devotion named for the Assumption of Mary.
History
The name is also well known as a place-name in the Spanish world, including Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, which is mentioned in the excerpt. As a surname, it is found among Spanish-speaking populations and in communities shaped by Spanish naming practice, including the Philippines and Latin America. The modern English-language census form often appears without the accent mark.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Asunción is one of the many surnames that began as a religious term and then spread through place-names and family naming customs.
From the historical record
“a complete Gaucho and old post-rider, and s guide, for the city of Assumption, called by the Spaniards Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. He was the first British subject who had ever visited that country, except a Scottish serjeant, a deserter from Beresford's army, whom he met with in Assumption.”
— The Scottish Nation, vol. 3