Pepe
A surname that can come either from a pet form of Peter or, in some cases, from the very common Spanish nickname Pepe for José.
The #6,313 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,122 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Pepe has more than one likely source. In Italian, it is often explained as a pet form related to Peter, ultimately from Greek Petros via Latin Petrus, with the sense of “rock” or “stone.” In Spanish, Pepe is famously a nickname for José, traditionally traced to a devotional shorthand for “Pater Putativus” in reference to St. Joseph, though that folk explanation is itself debated. Because of these parallel uses, the surname can be patronymic in one family and nickname-based in another.
History
The name is well established in both Italian and Spanish-speaking areas, and the historical excerpts specifically note Pepe as a personal name in Spanish and as a French/Italian-style name form in older surname lists. In English-language records it appears as an imported surname, especially through Italian and Mediterranean migration. The famous Italian general Guglielmo Pepe helped make the name familiar outside Italy in the 19th century.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Spanish usage, Pepe became so common as a nickname for José that it is often treated as a name in its own right.
From the historical record
“Monmth. Pape. A.S. Papo ; Fr. Pepe ;a p.n. See Poppy. N. papi a priest). Papper, a Prot. r ., Lond. 1618 Papworth. A loc. n., Camb.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)Notable people named Pepe
- Simone Pepe (b. 1983)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.