Fraga
A Spanish and Portuguese surname most often linked to a rugged, rocky place name rather than a personal trait.
The #6,746 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,774 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Fraga is generally taken from a place-name or topographic word meaning a rocky outcrop, cliff, ravine, or broken, rugged ground. In the excerpt provided, Spanish glosses connect fraga with rough, stony, broken terrain, which fits the usual Iberian surname pattern of naming people after the place where they lived or came from. In Galician and related usage, fraga can also refer to a rocky or wooded ravine or similar rough landscape feature.
History
Fraga is well established in the Iberian world, especially in Spain and Portugal, and later spread through emigration to the Americas. As with many toponymic surnames, it may have arisen independently in more than one locality named Fraga or from people identified by residence near such terrain. The surname is also borne by notable figures in modern Spanish and Latin American life, which has helped keep it visible outside Iberia.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
There is a town called Fraga in Aragón, Spain, which could have reinforced the surname as a place-based family name.
From the historical record
“Fosa. La sepultura Fraga. Peñascal o quebrada fragosa porla abundancia de peñas cortadas en forma de dientes de sierra. Fragosa. Aspera, llena de maleza. Ruidosa, estrepitosa. Fragua. El fogon en que el herrero i otros artífices que”
— Diccionario de los apellidos