Leiva
A surname most likely taken from the place-name Leiva in Spain, and later carried to the Americas by Spanish families.
The #4,335 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,684 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Leiva is best understood as a locational surname, referring to someone from a place called Leiva. The historical excerpts point to a Spanish noble line associated with Leiva, and the surname was already in use in medieval Castile. The ultimate origin of the place-name itself is less certain and is not securely explained by the excerpts.
History
The name appears in medieval Spanish records and was borne by members of notable Castilian families, including figures styled "de Leiva". It later spread widely through Spain and Spanish America, where it remains common today. In modern use, it is often found without the preposition "de", simply as Leiva.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname appears in records connected with Castilian nobility and military service, showing how many Spanish surnames began as place-based identifiers before becoming hereditary family names.
From the historical record
“Juan Villamala Juana M. Pinochet Juan J. Valenzuela Toribio Zauayo Juan B Martinez Luis A. Leiva Cárlos R Valencia Antonio Acuña José M. Hernandez M. Antonio Acuña Luis Lacoste José del C. Escalante Juan Soza Ernesto Mondaca Petronila Olivares de R. Rómulo Canales”
— Diccionario de los apellidos