De Los Santos
A Spanish-language surname meaning “of the saints,” originally a devotional or religious family name.
The #1,880 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,138 Americans shares it.
Etymology
De Los Santos is a Spanish surname built from de los, meaning “of the,” and santos, meaning “saints.” It is usually understood as a devotional name referring to the saints as a group, or to a place or church associated with that dedication. In Hispanic naming practice, such religious surnames often arose as expressions of piety or from local place-names tied to a saintly dedication.
History
The surname is found in Spanish-speaking regions and then spread widely through the Spanish colonial world, especially in the Philippines and across Latin America. In modern records it often appears as De los Santos, Delos Santos, or DeLosSantos, with spacing and capitalization varying by country and administrative style. In the United States, it is especially common among families of Filipino, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic backgrounds.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it began as a phrase rather than a single word, this surname shows a lot of spelling variation in records, even within the same family.