Encinas
A Spanish surname meaning “oaks,” originally a plural form tied to the oak tree.
The #7,609 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,667 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Encinas is the Spanish plural of encina, “holm oak” or “evergreen oak.” The word goes back to Latin quercus-style oak vocabulary through the Romance form encina, and the surname likely began as a name for someone who lived near oaks or came from a place marked by them. In Spanish naming, tree and landscape terms often became hereditary surnames in exactly this way.
History
The surname is found in Spain and across the Spanish-speaking world, especially in regions where place-names and family names were drawn from local geography. As with many Spanish surnames derived from common nouns in the plural, Encinas may point to an area with notable oak trees rather than to a single family trait. It is also found in Latin American communities through Spanish colonial and later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Encina is a very old and productive Spanish word for the holm oak, a tree strongly associated with the Iberian landscape.
From the historical record
“Encina. Arbol ramoso que produce las bellotas. Encinas Plural del anterior. Endulce. Endulzar. Enero. Primer mes del año. Mes del año que trae su”
— Diccionario de los apellidos