Anselmo
A surname from a personal name meaning “divine helmet,” ultimately from Germanic roots.
The #9,839 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,872 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Anselmo is a surname taken from the old given name Anselm/Anshelm, built from Germanic elements usually explained as ans 22 meaning “god” or “divine” and helm meaning “helmet” or “protection.” In medieval Latin and the Romance languages, that personal name became Anselmus, Anselmo, and related forms. As a surname, it most often developed from an ancestor’s given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The name was carried into medieval Europe through Latinized and Romance forms, and it appears in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese usage as both a given name and surname. The historical excerpts specifically connect it with the Germanic name Anshelm and note continental use of Anselmo as a softened Romance form. In English-speaking countries it is comparatively uncommon and is more often found in families of Mediterranean or Hispanic background.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Saint Anselm of Canterbury helped keep the underlying name familiar in medieval Christian Europe, even though the surname form remained much more common on the Continent than in England.
From the historical record
“bishop of Koueu, eon of Ilicliard I. of Normandy. This Count, by his wife Ilerleva (fee Anselmo, i. 477, &c.), had, E Kiehard, Count of E., father of William, Count of ]]., living lOSO, whoso fcisler, wife >:f Amaury de Montfort, was his heir- ess; 2.' Dalph d'Evreux, Sire De”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States