Sotomayor
A Spanish toponymic surname meaning “under the greater tower” or, more loosely, “at the base of the high hill/tower.”
The #7,859 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,336 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sotomayor is a place-based surname from Spanish, built from soto meaning a grove, thicket, or low wooded place, and mayor meaning “greater” or “higher.” In surname use, it usually points to someone originally identified with a place called Sotomayor or a similar topographic feature. The name is often explained as referring to land below a prominent rise, tower, or higher ground, though exact local interpretations can vary.
History
The name is strongly associated with old Galician and Castilian noble lines, especially the medieval house of Sotomayor. Historical references in Spanish genealogy often treat it as a distinguished lineage surname rather than a common occupational or descriptive name. It also spread beyond Spain through migration to the Americas and other Spanish-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is famous in Spanish nobility: Don Juan de Sotomayor appears in historical accounts as a Maestre de Alcántara.
From the historical record
“conocido que considero inútil decir quién lo ocupa hoy. SOTOMAYOR / Don Juan de Sotomayor, Maestre de Alcántara, fué una hechura del infante D. Fernando de Castilla, de- biendo a esta protección gran poder y fortuna, pero sien- do ya viejo fué preso y murió loco en la prisión. Su - 338 - primogénito D. Alfonso se…”
— Origen de 300 apellidos castellanos y vascongadosNotable people named Sotomayor
- Sonia Sotomayor (b. 1954)
- Javier Sotomayor (b. 1967)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.