Fontes
A Portuguese and Spanish surname meaning “fountains” or “springs,” originally a place-name for someone who lived by them.
The #7,437 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 68,947 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Fontes is the plural form of the Romance word for a fountain or spring, ultimately from Latin fons, fontis, meaning “spring” or “source of water.” As a surname, it most likely began as a locational name for someone from a place called Fontes or from a spot marked by springs. The same root also appears in many related surnames such as Fonte, Fuentes, and Font.
History
The name is found in Iberian naming traditions, especially in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking regions. It likely spread through the use of local place-names built on the very common water-term font-/fuente-. In the United States, Fontes is present but not especially common, reflecting later immigration from the Iberian world and its overseas communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind Fontes also gave English words like “font” and “fountain.”
From the historical record
“Fid6, Fov6, Flato, Farto (Crammed), Fila, Fumo, - Fundus, Fundis, Funda, - Festa, Falco, Fallo, Fons, Fax, Facie, Fac- ibus. Faux (Jaw), - Fac, Feci, Fecit, - Fons, Fontes, Fant, Fas, Flens, Flent, Frux (Fruit). (Greek.) Gamma (Letter G), - Glossa (Tongue), Golph (Gulf),”
— A Grammar of American Surnames