Rego
A surname usually linked to Latin roots for “rule” or “govern,” though in many cases it may also be a shortened form of a longer name.
The #6,375 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,796 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is often associated with Latin rego, meaning “I rule” or “I direct,” which also underlies words such as “regal” and “regime.” In surname use, Rego may have arisen as a short form or reduced spelling from longer names built on reg- / regn- elements, or from a nickname linked to rule, authority, or governance. Because the historical excerpts here do not give a direct headword entry for Rego itself, the exact surname origin remains uncertain.
History
Rego is found in Iberian and broader Romance naming contexts, where short surnames and clipped forms from longer Christian or classical names are common. In English-language surname collections it can be discussed alongside other reg- and rex-derived forms, but that does not by itself prove a single origin for every family named Rego. In modern usage it is best treated as a surname with likely Romance roots and more than one possible pathway into hereditary use.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind Rego also lies behind English words like “regal,” “regulate,” and “regime.”
From the historical record
“Rib- s. Ric (V., zweist. K.). RIC I. got. reiks, ahd. richi, mhd. riebe „mächtig" (vgl. lat. rex, rego und das deutsche Hauptwort Reich); „reich". In PN. einer der häufigsten und der frühesten Stämme, schon im 1. Jh. vor Chr. bei lat und griech. Schriftstellern in germanischen”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen