Concepción
A Spanish surname taken from the devotional name Concepción, meaning “the Conception,” originally used in honor of the Immaculate Conception.
The #2,909 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,036 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Concepción comes from Spanish concepción, “conception,” ultimately from Latin conceptio. As a surname, it is tied to the Marian devotion to the Immaculate Conception and began as a personal or devotional name rather than a descriptive byname. The literal sense is “conception” or “the conception,” referring to the religious title rather than a biological event in a family line.
History
The name is especially associated with Spanish naming practice, where María de la Concepción was a common feminine given name. Surnames of this type often arose from saints’ names, devotional names, or places and were later inherited as family names. In Hispanic communities the surname remains relatively uncommon in the United States but is well established in Spanish-speaking countries and diaspora communities.
Origin
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Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Spanish usage, Concepción was more commonly a female given name than a surname, especially in forms like María de la Concepción.
From the historical record
“males. La parte interior de un puerto que tiene por lo re- gular la forma de herradura. Nonbre propio de mujer, Concepcion. La pieza de moneda de calderilla antigua que 4”
— Diccionario de los apellidos