López is a surname of Spanish origin. It was originally a patronymic, meaning "Son of Lope", Lope itself being a Spanish given name deriving from Latin lupus, meaning "wolf". The surname is first attested in Old Castile in the heart of Spain, where the name originated in Visigothic times; however, the name is not of Germanic origin. Its Portuguese equivalent is Lopes, its Italian equivalent is Lupo, its French equivalent is Loup (or Leu), its Romanian equivalent is LUPU or LUPESCU and its Valencian equivalent is LLOPIS.

López is the fifth most common hispanic surname globally and in Spain and the USA. It is the most common surname in the province of Lugo. In the UK, it is the most common Spanish surname in the United Kingdom.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 34.8% of all known bearers of the surname López were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:40), 10.0% of Spain (1:52), 8.2% of Guatemala (1:22), 7.3% of the United States (1:547), 7.1% of Colombia (1:75), 5.0% of Argentina (1:96), 3.8% of Venezuela (1:88), 2.7% of Honduras (1:36), 2.7% of Peru (1:131), 2.6% of the Philippines (1:438), 2.5% of Nicaragua (1:27), 2.1% of Cuba (1:62), 1.8% of Ecuador (1:99), 1.6% of El Salvador (1:44), 1.4% of Paraguay (1:56), 1.3% of Chile (1:148) and 1.1% of Bolivia (1:104).