Manzano
A Spanish surname meaning “apple tree,” originally a nickname or house name from the tree itself.
The #3,697 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,134 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Manzano is the Spanish word for an apple tree, from manzana “apple” plus the tree-forming suffix -ano. As a surname, it likely began as a name for someone who lived by, worked with, or was associated with an apple tree or orchard. In some cases it may also have been taken from a place-name built on the same word.
History
The surname is well established in Spanish naming patterns, where surnames often come from trees, plants, and landscape features. The historical excerpts treat Manzano straightforwardly as a word for the apple tree and place it among other arboreal surnames. It is especially common in Spain and also appears widely in Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish has a related place-name pattern in Manzanares, which literally means a site associated with apple trees or apple orchards in older usage.
From the historical record
“yero, Vaquero, Cabañero, Colmenero, Abejero; o de las flores, árboles, frutas i plantas, como Flor, Rosa, Clavel, Moral, Manzano, Peral, Granado, Alamo, Encina, Robles, Pino, Espino, Acebo, Acebedo, Ciruelo, Nogueras, Olmo, Morera, Parra, Sarmiento, Viñas, Olivares, Mata, Romero, Aliaga, Melon, Trigo, Gal, Berza…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos