Ochoa
A Basque surname that likely began as a patronymic from a personal name or nickname, later fixed as a family name.
The #408 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,924 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical material points to Ochoa as a Basque form used in patronymic naming, linked to older spellings such as Osoa and Oxoa. In Basque, the element is commonly connected with a word meaning “wolf,” so the name may originally have been a nickname or personal name with that sense, later inherited as a surname. The Spanish spelling Ochoa reflects the old adaptation of Basque sounds and spellings into Castilian writing.
History
Ochoa is strongly associated with the Basque Country, especially the historical territories of Biscay and Navarre. The excerpts show it being treated as an old patronymic form, and the surname appears in medieval and early modern noble lineages. It later spread more widely in Spain and, through migration, throughout Latin America and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Basque documentary forms, the name could be written with x- or s-like spellings before standard Spanish orthography settled on Ochoa.
From the historical record
“Huart, sénior Fortunio Osoiz de Meltria, sénior Azenari Sainz de Nacerá.» (Becerro de Leyre.) Osoiz es patronímico de Osoa , Oxoa ú Ochoa. 7. — 78 —”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos