Quijano
A Spanish surname that likely began as a nickname or regional label, and in some traditions is linked to the older form Quixada.
The #6,628 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,420 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Quijano is Spanish, and older sources often treat it as related to the form Quixada. That points to a nickname-based origin rather than a straightforward occupational one, though the exact sense is not entirely certain from the excerpts alone. The ending -ano can mark association or origin, so the name may have meant someone connected with a place or with a trait expressed by the base form.
History
The name is best known from the fictional Alonso Quijano in Don Quixote, which helped keep it recognizable in Spanish literary culture. Historical surname lists also place Quijano among Spanish regional or descriptive bynames. In modern usage it is established in Spain and across Spanish-speaking communities, including the Americas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Cervantes gave Don Quixote the surname Quijano, the name is tied to one of the most famous characters in world literature.
From the historical record
“en Cervantes, Sancha Redonda^ Francúca Rico- ta, mujer de Ricote; Antonia Quijana, sobrina d^ Alonso Quijano; dementa Coheña , hija de Pe- dro Cobcño, y Ambrosia Agustina , hermana de D. Bernardo Agnstin. Y no era sólo la gente in- culta y sin letras la que hablaba así; los admi- radores de la famosa humanista…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos