Gastelum
A surname of Spanish-language origin, likely tied to a place name or regional form rather than a common occupation or nickname.
The #5,091 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,876 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gastelum is a Spanish-language surname that likely developed from a place name or a regional toponymic form in the Iberian tradition. The ending -um is unusual in standard Spanish surnames and may point to a local or dialectal spelling shaped by Basque or northern Spanish naming patterns. Because there is no single widely agreed derivation in the standard reference works, the safest explanation is that it is a regional surname whose exact root remains uncertain.
History
The surname is found especially in Spanish-speaking communities, and in modern usage it is most strongly associated with Mexico and Mexican American families. Like many surnames that traveled through colonial-era Spanish naming traditions, it became established in the Americas through migration and family continuity rather than through a single famous bearer. Its relatively concentrated distribution suggests a regional origin rather than a broadly spread Iberian surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In the United States, Gastelum is uncommon but clearly established, with several thousand bearers recorded in the 2010 census.