Dorado
A Spanish surname originally linked to the word for “gilded” or “golden,” probably first used as a nickname for someone with fair or golden coloring.
The #6,367 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,763 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dorado comes from Spanish dorado, meaning “gilded” or “golden,” from dorar, “to gild,” ultimately related to Latin deaurare, “to gild with gold.” As a surname, it was likely first applied as a descriptive nickname, especially for someone with golden hair, a bright complexion, or perhaps a connection with something golden-colored. Some early writers also group it with other Spanish nicknames that became hereditary family names.
History
The name is common in the Spanish-speaking world and is well suited to a descriptive origin, like many Spanish surnames formed from visible traits or nicknames. Historical references also show dorado used more broadly for “golden-colored” objects and creatures, which helps explain how the word could easily become a surname. In English-language writing, Dorado is also famous from El Dorado, the legendary “gilded one” or golden city, though that legend is separate from the surname itself.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Spanish word behind the surname Dorado also appears in the phrase El Dorado, originally meaning “the gilded one.”
From the historical record
“Rojo, Bermejo, Cano, Moreno, Prieto, Colorado, Pardo, Zarco, Dorado: estos, de algun nombre propio que era ordinario en la familia, como Vicente, Martin, Manuel, Domingo, i talvez de aluun mote o apodo que pasaba de padres a hijos, como Piernas, Barriga, Molinillo, Raposo, Guisado, Lanceta, Navaja, Puñal, Grasa…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos