Becerra
A Spanish surname that began as a nickname or byname linked to a young cow or heifer.
The #1,051 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,279 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spanish becerra means “heifer,” a young cow, and the surname likely began as a descriptive byname for someone associated with cattle, a rural place, or a house sign. The word goes back to Latin vitella/vitellus-type forms for a young calf, though the exact medieval pathway is not always stated the same way in older sources. In short, the name points to an animal term rather than a personal given name.
History
The excerpted 19th- and early-20th-century works treat Becerra among Spanish surnames formed from animal names. Older scholarship also notes it in historical Latinized naming lists, showing that it was established in Iberian usage by the medieval or early modern period. Today it is a fairly common surname in Spain and especially across Latin America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish, becerro is a young bull or calf, and becerra is the feminine form used for a heifer.
From the historical record
“Aliaga, Melon, Trigo, Gal, Berza, Nuez, Limon, Tomate, Espárrago, Cebolla; o bien de los animales, como Caballo, Buey, Vaca, Toro, Becerra, Becerril, Cabra, Cordero, «.Bortego, Lobo, Oso, «Conejo, úxallo, Apuila, Cuervo, Ave- cillo, Pardillo, Sardina i Salmon; o bien de las partes de un edificio i muebles del…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos