Infante
A surname from a word meaning “child” or “prince,” originally used as a title for a king’s son in Spanish tradition.
The #3,252 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,810 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spanish and Portuguese infante comes from Latin infans, meaning “child” or literally “one who cannot speak.” In medieval Iberian usage, the word became a title for the legitimate son of a king, not the heir himself but a royal prince. As a surname, it likely began as a descriptive or status-based name for someone attached to a royal household or nicknamed for a childlike or princely association.
History
The historical excerpts show the word being used in its royal sense in Spain and Portugal, and one source also notes an older use related to a choir boy or child. The surname is found in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions and later spread widely through migration, especially to the Americas. In modern records it is also common in Italy and the United States, reflecting broader Romance-language adoption and migration patterns.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish history, an infante was a prince’s title, while the heir to the throne was usually called the príncipe de Asturias rather than infante.
From the historical record
“de edad. Cualquiera de los hijos lejítimos del rei. Infante. El niño que aun no ha llegado a siete años. El soldado que sirve a pié. Cualquiera de los hijos lejítimos varones del rei. Isla. Cierta porcion de tierra rodeada enteramente de agua por el mar o por algun rio.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos