Cardona
A surname with strong Spanish and Catalan roots, originally tied to the place name Cardona in Catalonia.
The #1,071 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,434 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cardona is most likely a habitational surname, taken from the town of Cardona in Catalonia, Spain. The place-name is generally linked to a pre-Roman or early Romance root, though older scholarship does not give a fully certain explanation. In surname use, it simply meant a person who came from, or was associated with, that place.
History
As a surname, Cardona spread from Catalonia into the wider Spanish-speaking world, especially through migration and colonial-era movement. It is well established in Spain and across Latin America, and it also appears among Hispanic communities in the United States. Because the name is tied to a specific place, it belongs to the large class of Iberian locational surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Cardona is also the name of a historic Catalan town famous for its castle and salt mountain.
From the historical record
“lla, Carabántes, Caracuel, Carasa, Carballo, Cár- camo, Carcavina, Cárcer, Cardaño, Cárdenas, Car- denete, Cardero, Cardiu, Cardona, Careaga , Car- mena, Cármenes, Carmona, Carnero, Carneros, Carpió, Carpizo (Escarpizo?), Carrandi, Carranza, Carrasco, Carrascosa, Carrasquilla, Carreño, Car- rias, Carrion…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos