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Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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From Spanish Alvarado.

From Spanish Villanueva. Common surname in the Philippines and Mexico.

Borrowed from Spanish iglesias.

From Spanish Rivera, meaning "riverbank" or "shore".

Borrowed from Spanish Ortega.

From Portuguese Flores, from flores (“flowers”).

Borrowed from Spanish Aguilar. This surname is mostly found in Mexico.

From Spanish Reyes.

From Spanish castillo ("castle").

Borrowed from Spanish Rojas.

Borrowed from Spanish Mendoza, from Basque Mendoza.

Borrowed from Spanish Vargas. This surname is predominantly found in Mexico and Colombia.

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Ramos, from ramo ("branch").

Borrowed from Spanish Navarro, from navarro, demonym of Navarra, from Basque Nafarroa.

The San Francisco neighborhood is named after Californio politician José Castro.

From Romance Torres (Portuguese Torres and Spanish Torres); from torres ("towers"; Portuguese torres and Spanish torres); indicating someone who lived in or near a tower. From Latin turris.

Borrowed from Spanish Sosa, from Portuguese Sousa.

From Portuguese and Spanish palma. Doublet of palm, palmo, and pam.

From the name of a princess in the American fantasy film Star Wars (1977).

From Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish Dahl, a doublet of Dale.

Borrowed from Japanese 高雄 (Takao), itself adapted from a Min Nan placename, 打狗 (Tá-káu).

A Japanese given name, borrowed into English as-is.

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 喀左.

From Arabic bashir, meaning "one who brings good news".