Tovar
A Spanish surname most likely taken from a place name, ultimately tied to a family seat called Tovar.
The #1,070 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,424 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Tovar is a Spanish habitational surname, meaning it came from the name of a place rather than from a personal trait or occupation. The historical excerpts show a noble family settling in a place called Tovar and then taking the place-name as their lineage name. The deeper origin of the place name itself is less certain from these excerpts, so the safest reading is simply that the surname denotes someone from Tovar.
History
The name appears in Spanish nobiliary and genealogical writing as a line tied to a place called Tovar. In later centuries it spread as a hereditary surname beyond the original locality, especially in Spain and, through Spanish colonization and migration, in the Americas. Modern bearers are common enough in the United States to rank in the top few thousand surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In the cited genealogical tradition, the family name is explained very directly: the place itself was said to have given its name to the lineage.
From the historical record
“Toran, Torio, Tornos, Toro, Torquemada, Torre (La), Torrecilla, Torregrosa, Torremoclia, Torren- te, Torres, Torrijos, Toiis, Tovar, Travado, Trave- sedo, Tramarria, Trasierra, Trélles, Trevijano, Tri- gueros, Trillo, Troncoso, Trueba, Trujillo, Tueros, Tuñon , Turón , übach , Ubago , Ucles , Ugalde, ligarte…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos