Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Lopez” come from?

López is an English adoption of the Spanish surname López, derived from Spanish -ez (patronymic suffix) added to Latin lupus (wolf), with the suffix ultimately tracing through Latin -itia and -ia to Ancient Greek -ία and Proto-Indo-European -h₂.

Ancestry of “Lopez”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SpanishLópez—
2Spanish-ezA suffix forming many Spanish surnames; A suffix...
3Latin-itiesAlternative form of -iēs
4Latin-itia-ness, -ity
5Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
6Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
7Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
8Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →