Escobar
A Spanish surname originally referring to a place where broom shrubs grew in abundance.
The #520 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,794 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Escobar is generally explained from Spanish escoba, “broom” or “broom shrub,” with the place-name ending -ar indicating a spot characterized by that growth. In other words, it likely began as a habitational surname for someone from a place called Escobar, or from a landscape thick with broom bushes. Older etymological writers also connect it with the idea of sweeping or broom-making, but the plant-and-place explanation is the clearest.
History
The surname is well established in the Spanish-speaking world and appears in medieval and later Spanish records in several regional forms. It also traveled widely to the Americas through Spanish colonization, which helps explain its strong presence in Latin American genealogy today. The name is especially familiar through notable bearers such as the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, though the surname itself is much older and broader than any one modern figure.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish has several related surnames built on the same root, including Escobedo and Escobilla.
From the historical record
“carece de libertad. Escobar. Barrer con escobas, Sitio donde crece la mata llamada escoba i hai abundancia de ella. Escobedo. Escobar. Escobillana. Escobilla.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos