Parada
A Spanish surname meaning “stop,” “halt,” or “place to stand,” often tied to a resting place or stopping point.
The #4,103 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,697 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Parada comes from the Romance verb parar, “to stop” or “to stand,” and the noun parada, “a stop, halt, or stopping place.” In literal sense it can refer to a pause in movement, a stationing, or a place where people or animals gather and wait. As a surname, it likely began as a locational or descriptive name for someone who lived by such a place or was associated with one.
History
The surname is found in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions and later spread to the Americas through Iberian migration. Because parada is a common everyday word, the name may have arisen independently in more than one place. In some cases it can also be linked to local place-names containing Parada.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish, parada still means a bus stop, a pause, or a stationing of forces, so the surname preserves a very old everyday word in modern use.
From the historical record
“hacer sombra a alguna cosa. Parada. La accion de parar o detener. El lugar donde se para. El fin i término del movimiento de alguna cosa, especialmente de la carrera. Suspension o pausa en la mú- sica. El sitio o lugar donde se recojen o juntan las reses, Reunion de la tropa que entra de guardia, ¡el sitio donde se…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos