We have a couple of people on my company’s email list named “Firstname de la O”. I’ve seen this name before, occasionally.
Does it have any meaning? What is an “O” in Spanish? Does it refer to a place? Does the name have any noble connotations? It certainly does have a grand sound to it.
I knew a girl whose last name was “de la O.” I always wanted to show her my “de la O” face.
Thank you so much for that shocking reminder of my humble beginnings in broadcasting. Cheeseball Spanish language tv to be exact. There was this variety show host, something De la O.
Cold shivers, very cold shivers. 
If you speak Spanish, can you tell me what “La O” means, if anything?
Literally, it means “of the O.” Similarly, de la Sol would mean “of the sun.”
I gathered as much, but I still don’t know what you mean. Does it mean “Of the (letter) O”? What’s an “O”, in this context?
“la O” certainly suggests the letter to me. I can’t think of any other possibilities. But I have no clue what the name means.
The problem with it meaning “Of The (Letter) O” is that it’s nonsensical.
The ‘O’ in the name must mean something, or must have once meant something, or else it must have somehow evolved from another word or name.
[nitpick]
“of the sun” would be del sol.
[/nitpick]
Here is a page expalining the meaning of the phrase “Virgen de la O” referring to the Virgin Mary.
I would imagine that the surname refers to this.
If that is the connection than “O” is short for Omega. There are, for example, Latin lyrics to “In Dulci Jubilo” that refer to God/Christ, saying “Alpha es et O.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. If I understand this correctly, then “de la O” is a reference to a famous religious icon.
Although “O” is indeed short for Omega in In dulci jubilo, that’s a totally different cultural reference.
The O-Antiphons:
[ul]
[li]O Sapientia[/li][li]O Adonai[/li][li]O Radix Jesse[/li][li]O Adonai[/li][li]O Clavis David[/li][li]O Oriens[/li][li]O Rex Gentium[/li][li]O Emmanuel[/li][/ul]
are sung during Advent, and are apparently the source of the name “Virgen de la O” used for the pregnant Mary in many parts of Spain.
Erratum:
The second “O Adonai” in my post directly above should be removed – I messed up on the cutting and pasting. There are seven “O Antiphons”, not eight.
I realize why I made a mistake in a matter of liturgy two posts up: it was my post #666! :eek:
[Yes, I know scholars now believe that’s a mistranslation, but maybe my subconscious isn’t yet aware of that.]
The plot thickens.
An alternative source of the origin of “de la O” as a suffix for the name of the pregnant Mary is found in the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia. Discussing the Feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 18):
So, sources agree it’s in reference to the expectant mother Mary, but differ on whether the O is vocative or exclamatory…
‘Maria la O’ is a classic Cuban song, as well as a Spanish Caribbean folk legend.
Sort of – a specific Marian avocation. In “Our Lady of O”, Spanish grammar putting a definite article in front of “O” to specify it’s a particular instance of “O” (that associated with her pregnancy). Through the tradition of patron saints, the various Marian designations become personal names, or surnames, by dropping the “Nuestra Señora de” phrase (e.g. Lourdes, Pilar, Altagracia, Dolores). In the case of O.L. of O, you keep the “de la” (or at the very least the “la”) because you would otherwise have people just called “O” whichin Spanish would be awkward.
Bah! 
Is it possible that the name is a contraction of “de la Onate”?
Don Juan de Onate was a somewhat famous conquistador in what is now the southwestern U.S.
p.s. the “n” in “Onate” should have a tilde ~over it
I presume “The Story of O” is not a sequel.