Lopez Surname

Meaning and origin of the surname Lopez

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Lope', from Latin lupus ('wolf').

Historically and linguistically, Lopez belongs to the Spanish family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "LOH-pez".

United States Census frequency and ranking

In the official 2010 United States Census, Lopez was recorded 874,523 times, ranking as the 12th most common surname in the nation.

This represents an incidence rate of approximately 296.47 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 337 residents.

Race and ethnicity distribution

According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Lopezreported the following racial and ethnic affiliations in the 2010 US Census:

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Surnames Data. Percentages may not sum to exactly 100% due to independent rounding or suppression of small cell counts for privacy protection.

History of the surname Lopez

Lopez is an Iberian patronymic surname signifying 'son of Lope'. The baptismal name Lope represents the Old Spanish development of the Latin noun lupus, meaning 'wolf'. Animal-derived personal names were common across ancient Rome and pre-Roman Europe, evoking virtues of cunning, pack loyalty, and ferocity in battle.

In early medieval Spain, Lope was widely used among the Basque, Navarrese, and Castilian nobility, notably borne by the Haro family, Lords of Biscay (such as Diego López I de Haro in the twelfth century). As hereditary naming conventions matured, López emerged as one of the quintessential patronymic surnames throughout Castile, León, Andalusia, and Galicia (where it also took the form Lopes in Portuguese).

During the Age of Discovery, López was carried throughout the Spanish colonial empire across the Viceroyalty of New Spain, New Granada, and Peru. In North America, the surname was established in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico as early as the late sixteenth century. In the 2010 US Census, Lopez was recorded 874,523 times, ranking as the twelfth most common surname in the United States.