Arroyo
A Spanish surname meaning “stream” or “brook,” originally referring to someone who lived by a small watercourse.
The #678 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,100 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Arroyo is the Spanish word for a stream, brook, or small watercourse, and as a surname it most likely began as a name for someone who lived near such a place. The word ultimately goes back to Latin roots associated with flowing water, though the exact pathway into Spanish was long established by the medieval period. In surname use, it is a straightforward topographic name rather than a patronymic.
History
This surname is common in Spain and across the Spanish-speaking world, and it was carried to the Americas through colonial migration. The place-name origin also means it can arise independently in different districts where local streams were called arroyo. In modern U.S. records it is fairly well established and especially associated with Hispanic heritage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish, arroyo can mean both the stream itself and the low-lying channel where water runs after rain.
From the historical record
“cias varía de peso. Arroyo. Caudal de agua que corre casi ¡ siempre, i el pa- raje por donde corre. Arroz. Planta gramínea que produce el fruto' del mismo nombre.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos