Samaniego
A Spanish surname probably taken from the place name Samaniego in Álava, northern Spain.
The #4,295 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,284 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Samaniego is most likely a habitational surname, referring to someone from the town of Samaniego in Álava, in the Basque Country. The place name itself is usually treated as Basque in origin, though its deeper meaning is not securely settled in the older scholarship. In surname use, it would originally have identified a person by hometown rather than by family relationship or occupation.
History
The surname is well established in Spain and later spread to the Spanish-speaking world through migration. It is especially associated with northern Spain and with families of Spanish colonial and postcolonial diaspora. Because the historical excerpt only lists the name among Spanish surnames, the etymology here rests mainly on general onomastic pattern rather than a full dictionary entry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The best-known bearer is probably the Spanish writer Félix María Samaniego (1745–1801), famous for his fables.
From the historical record
“Sala (La), Salado, Salamanca, Salaya, Salazar, Salas, Salces, Saldaña, Sales, Salmean, Salmerón, Samaniego, Sámos, Sanahuja, Sandoval, Sangroniz, Sans, Santin, Sanz, Sanzo, Sarabia, Sariñena, Saro, Sarracín, Sarria, Secall, Sedaño, Segovia, Segu- ra, Seijas, Seijo, Sejalbo i, Selaya, Selgas, Sel- ma, Selva…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos