Polo
A surname that can have several origins, most often linked either to a personal name or a place-name in Romance-language areas.
The #9,084 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,810 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Polo is not straightforwardly singular in origin. In Romance-language records it can function as a shortened or adapted personal name, and some scholars have connected related forms to Latin or Greek naming traditions; in other cases it may reflect a local or family-name tradition in Spanish- and Italian-speaking areas. Because the excerpted sources point to different possibilities and do not give one settled derivation, the safest conclusion is that Polo is an old Romance surname with more than one plausible source.
History
Historical references in Spain show Polo in medieval documents, suggesting early use as a hereditary surname there. The name also appears in Italian and broader Romance contexts, where it could be associated with family lines, place-based naming, or diminutive forms of given names. In modern times it is found internationally, helped by migration and the fame of notable bearers such as Marco Polo.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Marco Polo made this surname one of the most internationally recognizable names in world history.
From the historical record
“Oat«lipoll.OatolipooI,Oatoli- polo,— Offic. 'the catchpoll,' one who seized people by the head ; a sheriff's officer, a bailiff; Latinized into cachtpoUus. ' A cachepol can forth”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances