Delano
A French surname most likely meaning “of the meadow” or “from the meadow.”
The #6,327 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,260 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This name is generally taken from French de la noe, meaning “of the meadow” or “from the wet meadow/pasture.” The spelling Delano reflects an old French locational surname built from de la plus a place-name element for a meadow or marshy field. Earlier writers sometimes linked it to a place-name rather than a common noun, but the sense is the same: someone identified by where they lived.
History
The name appears in older French and French-influenced surname traditions and later became established in English-speaking countries, especially the United States. It is best known in America through the family of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose middle name came from an ancestral surname. Historical dictionaries record the form with and without spacing, such as De Lano or Delano.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s middle name, Delano, was a family surname carried down from his mother’s side.
From the historical record
“Delaware, Of the enclosure, (v. Ware.) DELANO (N. €■), Of the meadow, {v. de la Noe.) DELESSERT {£.), Of the assart. Delprat, Of the meadow, court, or place, (v. Prat.) DELPHINI (Jt.), Bolphins ; and they carry three in their Arms. DEN, Dene, and Dena (©.), Valley, Pasture, Plain, Enclosed grove. DEPAU (N. %)• If…”
— Surnames