Santamaria
A surname built from the phrase “Saint Mary,” often marking devotion to the Virgin Mary.
The #2,897 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,949 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Santamaria is a compound surname from words meaning “saint” and “Mary,” referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Iberian and Italian naming traditions, such devotional surnames could arise from religious devotion, place names, or identification with a church or shrine dedicated to Mary. The form is usually written as one word in surnames, but its sense is still transparent: “Saint Mary.”
History
This type of Marian surname is found in Spanish- and Italian-speaking areas and among descendants of migrants from those regions. The surname likely developed independently in more than one place, since devotional surnames of this kind were widespread. In the United States it appears as a relatively uncommon Hispanic surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same devotional idea appears in many surnames and place names across the Catholic world, so Santamaria can sometimes overlap with toponymic forms from places called Santa Maria.
From the historical record
“Corono (Jesus Crowned), De Jesus, Elias, Immanuel, Em- manuel, Redemer (?), Savior, Sauveur, Salvador, Salvator, Christ Salvator, - Santamaria (St. Mary, B. V. M.), Ma- donna, Arcangelo (Archangel), Seraphim, Cherubin, Angel, Saint, Holyman, Godsman, Patriarch, Prophet, Seer, Seeress, Levite, Levitus, Priest…”
— A Grammar of American Surnames