Ramos Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
The Spanish and/or Portuguese last name Ramos has at least six different origin theories and meaning. First, it may have been a nickname deriving from Ram, Ramme, or Ramm that denoted a lusty man. Second, it may have been an occupational name for a shepherd (an important job in medieval Europe). Third, it may have been a name given to someone who lived in or operated an inn with the sign of the Ram. Fourth, it have originated as a topographic name for a person who lived in or near a raim, i.e. a thickly wooded area, deriving from the plural version of the Spanish word ramo (from the Latin ramus), meaning branch. Fifth, similar to the aforemention theory, it may have religious origins, wherein the branch refers to Palm Sunday, a venerated holiday/feast in the Catholic church that celebrates Christ’ arrival into Jerusalem. Sixth, it may be a topographic name given to a person who lived near a ram, which was an old Scandinavian word meaning a boundary post, a name word used by the Vikings throughout northern Europe. One author claims the family was first found in Castile, a region in north central Spain on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. I have not been able to identify what the Ramos family motto is, which is unusual for a Hispanic or Latin surname of such popularity in Europe and the Americas.