Solano
A surname most often tied to the sun or a sunny place, and in Spanish also to a south or east wind.
The #1,430 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,409 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Solano is a Spanish surname built on sol, meaning “sun,” with the adjective solano referring to something sunny or exposed to the sun. In Spanish it can also name a wind, especially one coming from the east or the direction of the rising sun, which may have influenced some surname uses. The same form can also point to a place-name or topographic nickname for someone living in a sunlit spot.
History
The surname appears in medieval Iberian records and later spread widely in Spanish-speaking regions. Because it can arise from several related meanings—sunny place, place-name, or wind-name—different families with the surname Solano may not share a single ancestor. It is now common in Spain and especially across Latin America, and also appears in the United States through Hispanic migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish, solano can name a wind as well as a surname, linking the name to the sun in more than one way.
From the historical record
“Cursor Mandi (Halliwell). Gilbert de Solano, co. Line, 1273. A. Adam ad Solarium, co. Oxf., ibid. Agnes de Solar\ co. Line, 127$. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)