Corral
A Spanish surname originally referring to a yard, pen, or enclosed farm enclosure.
The #2,158 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,369 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Corral comes from Spanish corral, meaning an enclosed yard, pen, or farm enclosure. The word goes back to Latin forms for an enclosure or ring-like boundary, and in older Spanish it could also overlap with the idea of a rural court or farmstead. As a surname, it was most likely first used for someone who lived by, worked at, or was associated with such an enclosure.
History
The surname is well established in the Spanish-speaking world and also appears in Hispanic communities abroad. Historical sources note the ordinary noun corral and its use in place-based surname formation, alongside related enclosure words such as corte and cortijo. In the United States, Corral is especially common in families of Hispanic origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older Spanish writers sometimes treated corral and corte as near-synonyms when describing rural properties and enclosures.
From the historical record
“des, Muro, Puerta, Llave, Portal, Escalera, Sala, Cortina, Mesa, Espejo, Parrilla, Botella, Peral, Bodega, Cubas, Pozo, Cuadra, Corral, Caño i Palomar; o bien del reino mineral, como Hierro, Acero, Plata, Oro, Mina; i de una infinidad de objetos que hacen parte de la tierra, como Sierra, Montes, Valle, Risco…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos