De Hoyos
A Spanish surname meaning “from the hollows” or “of the hollows,” originally indicating someone from a low-lying place.
The #7,478 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,303 Americans shares it.
Etymology
De Hoyos is a Spanish surname built from the preposition de, meaning “of” or “from,” plus hoyos, the plural of hoyo, “hole,” “pit,” or by extension “hollow.” As a surname, it most likely began as a locational name for someone who came from a place called Hoyos or from a landscape characterized by hollows or depressions. In Spanish naming tradition, such names often marked geographic origin rather than literal ownership.
History
Surnames of the form De + place-name are common in Spanish and Hispanic naming traditions, especially among families identified by their place of origin. De Hoyos appears in Spain and in the Hispanic Americas, where it was carried through migration and colonial-era settlement. In the United States it is most often found as a Hispanic surname, sometimes written with or without a space in the prefix.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname can point either to an actual place named Hoyos or to a landscape feature—so it may have started as a very literal description of the family’s home terrain.