Delgado
A Spanish nickname surname meaning “thin,” “slender,” or “delicate.”
The #221 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,322 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Delgado comes from Spanish delgado, an adjective meaning “thin,” “slender,” “slight,” or “delicate.” The word ultimately goes back to Latin delicatus, “delicate” or “dainty,” and in surname use it began as a descriptive byname for someone slight in build or refined in manner. The historical excerpts also gloss it as “delicado, sutil, flaco,” confirming the physical-and-character sense typical of Spanish nickname surnames.
History
As a surname, Delgado is common throughout the Spanish-speaking world and is especially frequent in Spain and Latin America. Like many descriptive surnames, it likely arose independently in multiple places for different families. The related form Delgadillo appears as a diminutive meaning “little Delgado.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Spanish naming practice, Delgado could function as a plain descriptive nickname before it became a fixed hereditary surname.
From the historical record
“Alcántara, fundada para combatir los moros Alcantarilla. Alcarraza. Cantarilla de barro blanco imui delgado, donde se pone el avua para que esté fresca. Alcázar. Fortaleza, casa fuerte en que residian los alcal- des o gobernadores de los pueblos murados. En la ¡ oe:ia se toma por los palacios de los reyes, aunque…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos