Islas
A Spanish surname meaning “islands,” most likely a locational name for someone from or near a group of islands.
The #3,853 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,559 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Islas is the Spanish plural word for “islands,” from Latin insula, meaning “island.” As a surname, it most likely began as a locational name for someone who came from a place called Las Islas or from an island district. In some cases it may also reflect a family name taken from a nearby geographic feature rather than a single island specifically.
History
The surname is found in Spanish-speaking regions and later in the Americas, where many Hispanic surnames spread through colonial migration. Because it is a common Spanish noun, it may have arisen independently in more than one place. The provided excerpt does not directly explain the surname, but it does confirm the word form as the Spanish plural for islands.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is a plural noun, Islas can point to a family’s link with a whole cluster of islands rather than just one island.
From the historical record
“Señalar bienes para alguna fundacion. Drago. Arbol de America ide las islas Canarias, de unos catorce piés de alto. Dragon. Animal fabuloso a que se atribuye la figura de serpiente mui corpulenta con piés ¡alas 1 estraña figura i voracidad. —DRAGON, Constelacion, segun la fábula era o”
— Diccionario de los apellidos