Lopez
A very common Spanish surname originally meaning “son of Lope,” with Lope itself coming from the Latin word for “wolf.”
The #12 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 353 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lopez is the Spanish patronymic form of Lope, a personal name that comes from Latin lupus, meaning “wolf.” In other words, the surname originally meant “descendant of Lope” or “son of Lope.” Older surname writers noted the same pattern in other Spanish names such as Díaz, Martínez, and Pérez.
History
The name is among the most widespread surnames in the Spanish-speaking world and became especially common in Spain and later throughout Latin America. Historical surname scholars often connected it with the old Spanish patronymic system, where family names were formed from a father's given name. It is also one of the most common surnames in the United States, reflecting large-scale Spanish- and Latin American immigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it comes from the word for “wolf,” Lopez belongs to a whole family of European surnames that ultimately point back to that same animal image.
From the historical record
“last century. LOPEZ. See Lopes. LOPPE. An uneven piece of ground, perhaps the same as Zoivc. LORAIGNE. LORAYNE. LOR- RAINE. From the well-known disti-ict of France. The Loraines are said to be a Norman family, and to have been origin- ally settled in the county of Durham, Kirk Hall, the residence of the baronet in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom