Guadarrama
A Spanish locational surname taken from the place-name Guadarrama, best known as a mountain range and town near Madrid.
The #5,767 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,406 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Guadarrama is a Spanish place-name, and the surname most likely began as a name for someone who came from that place or lived near it. The toponym is generally explained as containing Arabic wadi, meaning "valley" or "riverbed," plus a second element of uncertain origin; older explanations often gloss the whole name as something like "river of sand" or "sandy valley," but the details are not fully settled. As a surname, it is therefore a habitational name tied to the Guadarrama area in central Spain.
History
The name spread through Spanish-speaking regions as people took surnames from their native towns, valleys, or local landmarks. It is especially associated with Spain and with Spanish colonial and postcolonial migration to the Americas, where the surname is found today. Because it is toponymic, unrelated families can have adopted it independently from the same place-name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a major mountain range north of Madrid, so the surname carries a strong geographic connection to central Spain.