Pantoja
A Spanish surname that most likely began as a place name, referring to someone from Pantoja in Toledo, Spain.
The #2,383 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,247 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pantoja is best understood as a habitational surname: it identifies a person as coming from the town of Pantoja in the province of Toledo, Spain. The name is therefore primarily geographical rather than descriptive. The deeper origin of the place-name itself is less certain and is not securely explained in the excerpted source.
History
Like many Spanish surnames, Pantoja spread as people moved away from their home town and were identified by place of origin. It appears in historical surname lists of Spanish names and is now found in Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The surname also traveled to the Americas through Spanish migration and colonial expansion.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Pantoja is one of many Spanish surnames that likely began as a simple geographic label before becoming hereditary.
From the historical record
“lacios, Palafolls (Palafox), Palaudarias , Palencia, Palma, Palmerola, Palomares, Palomeque, Palome- ro, Palou, Pan, Pancorbo , Pantoja, Páramo, Par- dinas (Pardiñas), Paredes, Pareja, Parga, Partear- royo, Parra, Pas, Pasaron, Pastoriza, Pastrana, Pa- zos, Pecina, Pedrajas, Pedraza, Pedrosa, Pedroso, Pego, Penido…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos