Mendiola
A Basque surname built from a place-name element meaning “mountain” or “hill,” likely referring to someone from a hillside locality.
The #3,337 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,715 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mendiola is generally explained from Basque elements: mendi, meaning “mountain” or “hill,” plus a place-name ending or second element often taken as ola, which in Basque can refer to a hut, forge, or similar rustic site. Taken together, the name is usually understood as a locational surname from a place characterized by hills or a mountain settlement. Like many Basque surnames, it probably began as a name for people identified by their native place rather than as a personal nickname.
History
The excerpt shows Mendiola listed alongside other Basque-style surnames, which supports its treatment as a regional name from the Basque onomastic sphere. Surnames of this type spread beyond the Basque Country into Spain and, later, across the Spanish-speaking world through migration. In modern records it is especially visible in Latin American and U.S. Hispanic communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Basque surnames often preserve tiny geographic clues, and Mendiola is one of the many that point to the landscape rather than to a personal occupation or ancestor.
From the historical record
“Medina, Medinilla , Medrano, Melgosa, Mélida, Melón, Mena, Menargues, Mendecute, Mendialdua, Mendieta, Mendinueta, Mendiola, Mendivil, Men- dizábal , Mendo , Mendoza , Meneses , Meras, Mer- * La más antigua mención que conozco de este nombre es la que para designar un sitio se hace de él en una dona-”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos