Sierra
A Spanish surname originally referring to a saw-shaped mountain ridge, a mountain range, or someone who lived by one.
The #973 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,631 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In Spanish, sierra means a mountain range or a jagged ridge, and the word ultimately comes from Latin serra, meaning a saw. As a surname, it likely began as a topographic name for someone who lived near such a ridge or in a mountainous district. It can also be understood more broadly as a place-based surname drawn from striking landscape features.
History
Sierra is common in the Spanish-speaking world and appears in place names throughout Spain and the Americas. The surname also spread widely through Spanish colonial migration, so it is found in Latin America and among Hispanic communities in the United States. In some cases it may be linked to a specific locality named Sierra, but often it is simply a topographic surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root behind Sierra is also behind the English word serrated, because both relate to saw-like edges.
From the historical record
“are many of the name in Spanish America. The arms borne by the late Rt. Rev. O. E. Vidal, Bishop of Sierra Leone, and his immediate ancestors, indicate a Spanish rather than a French, origin. VIDLER. A AVest of England pronun- ciation of Fiddler.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom