Madrigal
A Spanish surname ultimately linked to a place-name, best known today from the word for a polyphonic song form.
The #1,299 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,421 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Madrigal is generally treated as a Spanish surname from a place-name, referring to someone who came from a town called Madrigal. The place-name itself is usually traced to a Latin base, often explained as connected with the phrase for a shepherd’s hut or rural dwelling, though the exact derivation is not always settled with certainty. In Spanish, the common noun madrigal also means a short lyric or song, but that is a later literary word and not the usual source of the surname.
History
The surname is well established in Spanish-speaking regions and is especially common in Spain and Latin America. It may sometimes have been reinforced by the familiar word madrigal, which became associated with music and poetry in European literary tradition. In English historical references, the word is more often encountered as the name of a musical composition than as a family name, which can make the surname look more unusual to non-Spanish speakers.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling that works as a surname also names a Renaissance-style song for several voices, which is why Madrigal can sound musical even when it is just a family name.
From the historical record
“donde se cria el erizo de mar. Madrigal. Composicion en versos en casílabos, que espre- sa un pensamiento delicado. Madrona, Anticuado, matrona. La madre que muestra demasiado amor a sus hijos.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos