Rivero
A Spanish surname linked to a riverbank or riverside place, and in some older regional uses to a fish-dam or embankment by the water.
The #3,254 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,825 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Rivero is usually explained from Spanish river-related vocabulary, especially the word for a riverbank or riverside place. In older regional usage, it could also refer to a stake fence, embankment, or weir built along water. As a surname, it most likely began as a topographic name for someone who lived by a river or by a water-edge feature.
History
Rivero is a longstanding Spanish surname and is also found in Hispanic America through later migration and colonial-era spread. The form is relatively uncommon compared with the more widespread Rivera, but it follows the same general naming pattern of surnames taken from landscape features.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root that gives Rivero its watery feel also appears in place-names and related surnames across the Spanish-speaking world.
From the historical record
“Ribera. Orilla de mar o rio. Rivero. Vallado de estacas, etc., que se hace a la orilla de las presas. Rico. Noble o alto linaje, o de conocida i estimable bon- dad. Hacendado, acaudalado. Abundante, opulento 1 pin- y úe. Sabroso, agradable. Mui bueno en línea.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos