Olea
A surname linked to the olive tree or olive groves, especially in Spanish-speaking regions.
The #7,492 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,428 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Olea is most naturally connected with Spanish and Latin words for the olive tree: Spanish ola/oliva forms and Latin olea, meaning an olive tree. As a surname, it is likely to have begun as a habitational or topographic name for someone who lived near olive trees or an olive grove, or from a place name based on that word. In some cases it may also have been influenced by older local naming patterns in Iberia where tree and landscape terms became family names.
History
The name appears in Spanish surname lists and is especially at home in the Iberian naming tradition. Like many surnames drawn from plants and landscape features, it could arise independently in more than one place. Modern bearers are found in Spain and across the Hispanic world, including the Americas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Olea is closely related to the Latin root behind many olive-related words across European languages.
From the historical record
“primero de los dioses Olea. La oliva, el olivo, árbol. La oliva o aceituna. Oleal. Conjunto de oleas. Oleario. Oleoso. Aceitoso.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos