Sotelo
A Spanish surname most often linked to a place name, likely referring to someone from or near a wooded hill or small grove.
The #1,679 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,390 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sotelo is generally understood as a Spanish surname taken from a place name. It is usually connected with Spanish and related Iberian forms such as soto, meaning a small wood, grove, or riverside thicket, with the suffix -elo/-elo used in local place names. In this sense, the name would have originally identified someone who lived by, or came from, a place called Sotelo or something similar.
History
The surname is especially found in Spain and in Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas, where it spread through migration from the Iberian Peninsula. Like many Hispanic surnames, it likely began as a toponymic byname before becoming hereditary. Modern bearers include people of diverse origins, reflecting the surname’s wide colonial and postcolonial dispersal.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish surnames ending in -elo often preserve very old local place names, even when the original village name has faded from everyday use.