Castillo
A Spanish surname meaning “castle,” usually indicating someone who lived by, worked at, or was associated with a castle.
The #93 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,340 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Castillo comes from Spanish castillo, meaning “castle” or “fortified stronghold,” ultimately from Latin castellum, a diminutive of castrum (“fort” or “camp”). As a surname, it most often began as a locational name for someone who lived near a castle or from a place called Castillo. In some cases it may also have been used for people connected with the keep, fortress, or castellated estate itself.
History
The surname is especially common in Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America, where it appears in many regional spellings and compound forms. Medieval records and later noble genealogies show it widely in Iberia, and it spread to the Americas through Spanish colonization and migration. It is one of the most familiar Spanish surnames derived from a place-feature rather than a personal nickname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Castillo is also a very common place-name element in the Spanish-speaking world, so the surname can independently arise in multiple localities.
From the historical record
“Alcaide. El que tiene a su cargo la guarda i defensa de algun castillo o fortaleza bajo juramento i pleito home- naje. En las cárceles el que tiene a su cargo la custodia de los presos. El capitan de aquel cuerpo que formaban los donceles, o el que tenia a su cargo instruirles para la milicia.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos