Soria
A surname usually taken from the Spanish city and province of Soria, meaning “from Soria.”
The #2,495 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,327 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Soria is a habitational surname from the Spanish city and province of Soria in Castile and León. The place name is generally explained as coming from an older local or medieval form, ultimately tied to the settlement itself rather than to a common noun with a clear modern meaning. As a surname, it would originally have identified someone who came from Soria or had family connections there.
History
This is one of the many Spanish surnames formed from place names. In historical sources, Soria appears mainly as a geographic surname rather than as a word with an independent occupational or descriptive sense. It is also found among families with roots or branches in central and northern Spain, especially in Castile and nearby regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Soria is both a surname and the name of one of Spain’s smallest provincial capitals, which helped the place-name surname spread beyond the town itself.
From the historical record
“or Lupian Zapata, born at Segorbe in the seventeenth century ; and Antonio Zapata, born at Soria at the end of the seventeenth century. The latter was one of the most celebrated of the pupils of Antonio Palomino, and, among many others, painted a fine picture of St. Peter and St. Paul for the cathedral of Osma. The…”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames