Cordero
A Spanish surname that usually meant “lamb,” and was also used for a maker of strings for stringed instruments.
The #1,164 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,238 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In Spanish, cordero means “lamb,” from Latin cordarius / cordus-related forms in the wider Romance word history for a young sheep. As a surname, it was often taken as a descriptive nickname, likely for someone thought meek or gentle, or simply for someone identified by the animal term. Some older Spanish scholarship also records Cordero as an occupational name for a maker of strings for the vihuela or related instruments, though that explanation is less universally accepted than the animal-name origin.
History
The name is common in Spain and the wider Spanish-speaking world, and it spread to the Americas through Spanish migration. Historical references show it being used both as a family name and, in older onomastic discussions, as a possible occupational byname. Because the word is very common in Spanish, the surname likely arose independently in more than one place.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Spanish surname lore, Cordero could be explained either as “lamb” or, in some sources, as a craftsman’s name connected with strings for the vihuela.
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