Vallejo
A Spanish surname meaning “little valley” or “from the valley,” often used as a place-based name.
The #1,881 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,150 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Vallejo is generally understood as a Spanish diminutive of valle, “valley,” ultimately from Latin vallis. In that sense it can mean “small valley” or “one from a little valley,” and it fits a common pattern of Spanish surnames formed from landscape terms. Some older sources also treat it as a habitational surname tied to places called Vallejo or similar.
History
The name appears in Spanish genealogical sources as an old line associated with the valley of Mena in northern Spain. Like many Spanish surnames, it likely spread from a local place-name into a hereditary family name and then into wider use across the Spanish-speaking world. Today it is found in Spain and throughout Latin America, as well as in the United States through immigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root valle appears in many related surnames, including Valle, Valles, Vallecillo, and Valverde.
From the historical record
“Vallecillo. Diminutito de Valle. Vallejo. Diminutivo de Valle. Valles Plural de Valle. Vaquero. Que es propio de los pastores de vacas Pastor del ganado vacuno.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos