Spain
A surname that usually meant “from Spain,” though some English families may have different origins.
The #3,093 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,552 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spain is an ethnic or regional surname, originally used for someone identified as coming from Spain. The name ultimately goes back to Latin Hispania, the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula; later forms in Old French and Spanish helped shape the modern English surname. In medieval records it could be attached to an immigrant, a trader, or anyone associated with Spain by residence or reputation.
History
Medieval English sources show the surname very early, including forms like de Spayne and de Ispania. One 19th-century writer noted that some English Spain/Spayne families may have more than one origin, rather than descending from a single ancestor. The name is also found as a place-based byname in later records and among families who may have taken it from continental connections.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A classic medieval theory linked the name Hispania to rabbits said to have swarmed the region's eastern coast.
From the historical record
“SPAFFORD = SpofTord, q.v. SPAIN (A.-Lat.-?Phoen.) One from Spain, the Span. Espana, Lat. Hispania (Gr. Spania, sirai/fa) [usually said to have been named by the Phoenicians from the rabbits which infested the eastern coast] William de Spayne. — Hund.-Rolls.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)