Ocasio
A Spanish-language surname most likely from a given name, probably linked to the Latin name Occasion/Occasius or a related form.
The #3,815 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,223 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally understood as coming from a personal name rather than from a place or trade. The most likely source is a Latin-rooted given name such as Occasius or a related Spanish form, ultimately connected with Latin words built on "occasio" meaning "occasion" or "opportunity." In practice, surnames of this type often began as family names formed from an ancestor’s baptismal name.
History
Ocasio is a Hispanic surname found especially in Puerto Rico and among Spanish-speaking families in the Caribbean and the United States. The single excerpt provided only mentions a different, unrelated word form and does not supply direct evidence for the surname’s origin, so this entry relies on broader onomastic patterning. The name is best treated as a Spanish-language hereditary surname with likely patronymic roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is especially familiar in the U.S. through Puerto Rican and other Latino communities, and it has a clear, distinctive three-syllable rhythm in Spanish.
From the historical record
“Abendaño ha de continuar esta familia y el hijo segun- do abandonará su apellido para tomar el de Gamboa y ser el pariente mayor de este linaje. En dos ocasio- nes el Cronista habla de Gamboinos sin relacionarlos con las familias guipuzcoanas de este bando, y en nin- guna de las dos luchan enfrente los Oñacinos: en…”
— Origen de 300 apellidos castellanos y vascongados