Lobato
A Spanish surname meaning “young wolf” or “wolf cub,” from a nickname based on the wolf.
The #8,201 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,290 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lobato comes from Spanish lobato, meaning a young wolf or wolf cub. It is ultimately related to Latin lupus, “wolf,” through the Romance wolf-word family. As a surname, it likely began as a nickname for someone thought to be fierce, wild, or wolf-like, or perhaps for someone associated with wolves or a place named for them.
History
The surname is Spanish in origin and is well established in Iberian naming traditions. Because wolf-based nicknames were common in medieval and early modern Spanish surnames, Lobato could arise independently in more than one family line. It is also found in Spanish-speaking regions outside Spain through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older Spanish lexicographic sources gloss lobato simply as “the wolf cub,” showing how directly the surname comes from everyday vocabulary.
From the historical record
“colonos i los esclavos. Lobato. El cachorro del lobo. Lobaton. Aumentativo de lobato. Lobera. El monte donde hacen guaridas los lobos Por- tillo por donde se puede pasar con dificultad.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos