Santoyo
A Spanish surname most likely built from a saint name and a place-name element, though its exact origin is not fully certain.
The #4,086 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,521 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Santoyo is probably Spanish in form and appears to combine the element santo, meaning “saint,” with a second element that may be locational or devotional in origin. The historical record does not give a single secure derivation, and older scholarship treated it as one of several surnames formed from saints’ names or saintly place names. In short, it likely began as a name tied to a place, shrine, or saint-associated designation rather than from a plain descriptive word.
History
The name is found in Spanish-speaking contexts and in modern times has spread beyond Spain through migration to the Americas. The excerpted historical source lists Santoyo among other Spanish surnames linked to saints, which supports a Hispanic origin but not a precise etymology. Because the old source is only an incidental mention, it is best treated as suggestive rather than definitive.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname studies, names beginning with San- were often grouped together because they could point to saints, churches, or places named for saints.
From the historical record
“Félix ; Santillan , Santian , Santullan , Santulla- no , San Julián ; Sanjurgio^ ó Sanjurjo^ Santurce, Sanjordi ó Sanchordí^ San Jorge; Santoyo^ San Eutiquio, pasando por Santochio; Sampil , Sam- p¿?', Sa7n2?ej', Semper^ Sempere, San Pedro ; San- uno ú otro carácter se haya impuesto de sobrenombre aquí”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos