Preciado
A Spanish surname built from a word meaning “precious,” “valuable,” or “excellent.”
The #2,883 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,789 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Preciado comes from Spanish preciado, the past participle of preciar, meaning “to value,” “to prize,” or “to esteem.” In surname use, it likely began as a descriptive nickname for someone regarded as precious, esteemed, or of high worth. The deeper root is Latin pretium, “price” or “value,” which also lies behind Spanish words such as precio.
History
The name is documented in Spanish-speaking communities and is especially common in the Spanish-speaking world and among Hispanics in the United States. Like many descriptive surnames, it may have started independently in more than one place. The related Spanish adjective preciado also appears in older lexicographic works with senses such as “precious” and “excellent.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it comes from an everyday adjective, the surname can be read quite literally as “the valued one” or “the precious one.”
From the historical record
“culares. Súplicas. Preciado. Precioso, excelente, jactancioso. Presa. La accion de prender o tomar alguna cosa. El pillaje o botin que se toma al enemigo en la guerra. Con- ducto descubierto por donde se dirijen las aguas de los rios. Uña del ave de rapiña. Fábrica a modo de pared'o”
— Diccionario de los apellidos