DeLao
A surname most likely built from a Romance-language place or family-name prefix plus a shorter name element, rather than from a single clear English word.
The #5,343 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,390 Americans shares it.
Etymology
DeLao is not a widely standardized surname with a single secure etymology in the major surname dictionaries, so its origin is best treated as uncertain. The opening element de- is common in Romance surnames and usually means "of," "from," or "belonging to," often pointing to a place, family line, or older byname. The second element may preserve a short personal name, nickname, or place-name element that was later written together as DeLao.
History
The form is relatively uncommon in the United States and may reflect later spelling simplification or anglicization of a longer Romance-language surname. In some families, surnames with de- were merged into a single word in records, producing forms like DeLao, Delao, or similar variants. Because the name is rare, its history is likely to differ by family and region rather than having one universal origin story.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Surnames beginning with de- are often misunderstood as a single fixed pattern, but in many cases they started as ordinary phrases meaning "from" or "of."