Ortega
A Spanish surname most likely taken from the common plant ortiga, meaning “nettle,” or from a place named for it.
The #239 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,426 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ortega is generally explained as a Spanish surname formed from ortiga, the word for “nettle.” The plant name goes back to Latin urtica, and the surname likely began either as a locational name for someone from a place associated with nettles or as a habitational surname from a settlement called Ortega. Older sources also show it as a well-established Spanish family name by the medieval period.
History
The name is especially widespread in Spain and later became very common across the Spanish-speaking world. Medieval documentary references show Ortega already in use as a hereditary surname among Iberian families. It is now one of the more familiar Hispanic surnames in the Americas, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish dictionaries note that ortiga is the nettle plant, which gives the surname a vivid, botanical flavor.
From the historical record
“donde hai laravitos. Ortega. Ave mui comun en España, i cuya carne es mui apreciada. Ortiga. Planta erizada de pelos tiezos i punzantes que causan al tocarla una picazon estraordinaria.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos