DeCastro
A surname meaning “of Castro,” originally marking someone from a place called Castro.
The #6,361 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,666 Americans shares it.
Etymology
DeCastro is a surname built from the Romance preposition de, meaning “of” or “from,” plus Castro, a place-name found in Spain, Portugal, and other Romance-speaking regions. The word Castro ultimately comes from Latin castrum, meaning “fort” or “stronghold,” so the name originally meant “from Castro” or “of the fort.” In surname use, it is usually a locational byname rather than a direct reference to an occupation or family role.
History
The form appears in historical surname indexes alongside other names of Romance origin, which fits its Iberian background. In the Americas it is often found among families of Spanish or Portuguese heritage, and the spelling is sometimes written with a lowercase space as De Castro. Modern use is especially common among descendants of emigrant Iberian, Latin American, or Filipino families.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Castro is a very old place-name element in Iberia, so surnames like DeCastro can point back to towns, villages, or fortified sites rather than a single specific family line.
From the historical record
“Davenport, Daver, D'A\ ignan, Dayson, Deacy, Dea- GAN, Deake, De Bank, De Brenner, De Carteret, Decastro, Decatur, Decker, De Colley, Decorsey, Decosey, De Coster (sometimes spelt Decosta), De CouRSEY, Decrow, Dede, Deegan, Deely, Deering, Defrees, De Freitas and De Frites, Degan, Deg- nan, Degran, Dehon, Deichert…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)