Grillo
A surname usually understood as a nickname from the Spanish and Italian word for a cricket, or from a related descriptive meaning such as quick, restless, or grayish.
The #5,472 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,583 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Grillo most directly matches the Spanish and Italian word grillo, meaning “cricket.” As a surname, it was likely first applied as a nickname, perhaps for someone thought lively, jumpy, or small, as surnames often arose from animal names and personal traits. In Spanish usage the word also developed other senses in older dictionaries, but the animal-name origin is the clearest and most likely source for the surname.
History
Grillo is well established as a surname in both Italy and the Spanish-speaking world. It appears especially in southern Italy and also in Spain and Latin American countries through later migration. In the United States it is found among immigrant-descended families, particularly from Italian and Hispanic backgrounds.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish, grillo still means both “cricket” and, in some idiomatic uses, a quirky idea or whim.
From the historical record
“profundo. Grillo. Insecto que se cria en el campo ¡en las casas. Tallo que arrojan las semillas cuando empiezan a brotar. Cierto jénero de prision. Cualquier cosa que embaraza. Gris. Color que resulta de la mezcla del blanco i negro i azul. Los halcones de este color. Animal cuadrúpedo.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos