Torres
A very common Spanish surname meaning “towers,” originally tied to someone who lived by or worked at towers or to places named for them.
The #37 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 705 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Torres is the plural of Spanish torre, “tower,” from Latin turris. As a surname, it usually began as a locational name for someone living near one or more towers, or as a habitational name from a place called Torres. In some cases it may also reflect a family’s connection with a fortified site or tower-bearing estate.
History
The name is widespread across the Spanish-speaking world and appears early in medieval Spanish records as both a place-name element and a hereditary surname. It is especially common in Spain and Latin America, where many independent families adopted it from different towns or local landmarks. The form is also found in Portuguese and in Sephardic Jewish contexts, though the Spanish place-name origin is the most typical explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Torres is a plural form, it often points to a spot with more than one tower or to a settlement identified by its towers.
From the historical record
“Rainikoto, 'the father of Rakato' — the father was known formerly as Rabe." The Murray Islanders, it appears from the 'Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits' (vol. vi. 1908), have a "multiplicity of names belonging to each individual, one of these names being particularly private…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Torres
- Fernando Torres (b. 1984)
- Fernanda Montenegro (b. 1929)
- Carlos Alberto Torres (1944–2016)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.