Gallego
A Spanish surname meaning “Galician” or “from Galicia,” originally used to identify someone from the northwest region of Spain.
The #5,971 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,574 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gallego comes from Spanish gallego, meaning a person from Galicia, the region in northwestern Spain. The word is ultimately tied to the name of that region and was used as a regional label before it became a hereditary surname. In some historical contexts it could also function as a broader nickname for someone thought of as Galician or simply “the Galician.”
History
The surname is common in Spain and across Spanish-speaking countries, especially where families have roots in the Iberian Peninsula. Historical name lists often group Gallego with other regional surnames such as Catalán, Castellano, and Leonés, showing its use as a marker of origin. It also appears in older Spanish surname studies as a fairly straightforward ethnic or regional byname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Spanish naming traditions, surnames like Gallego often began as plain identifiers, much like “the Breton” or “the Welshman” in other languages.
From the historical record
“Galeno. Dícese del viento suave i apacible, Médico. | Galiano. Gallego. Galianos. Cierta comida de los pastores. Galilea. De Galilea. Nombre dado por oprobio a Jesw- cristo i a los cristianos.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos