Toribio
A Spanish surname and given name likely tied to the saint’s name Toribio, ultimately from a Germanic name associated with Thor.
The #7,148 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,985 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Toribio is a Spanish surname taken from the personal name Toribio. The name is traditionally linked to an old Germanic compound associated with Thor, the Norse thunder god, though older scholarship did not always agree on the exact form or route of transmission. In Spanish usage it became familiar through the saint’s name, and surnames then developed from that personal name.
History
The historical excerpts connect Toribio with Spanish use of a saint’s name and note an earlier Asturian bishop of that name, showing the form was established in Iberia long before modern surname use. It survives today both as a given name and as a surname in Spanish-speaking communities, especially in Latin America. The surname is relatively uncommon in the United States but is well represented in Hispanic populations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same name appears in Spanish ecclesiastical history and in several place names, which helped keep it visible even after it became a surname.
From the historical record
“Juan Villamala Juana M. Pinochet Juan J. Valenzuela Toribio Zauayo Juan B Martinez Luis A. Leiva Cárlos R Valencia Antonio Acuña José M. Hernandez M. Antonio Acuña Luis Lacoste José del C. Escalante Juan Soza Ernesto Mondaca”
— Diccionario de los apellidos