# Etymology of name "De La O" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392 "2005-06-01T16:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![adobe100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@adobe100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adobe100)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/21 "2013-04-07T17:13:46Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > 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 just came across some history that may explain the name De la O. In the 15th Century in many Italian City-States, Jews were required by law to wear a yellow cloth badge in the form of a circle (to remind people of the coins of Judas). The badge was called the “segne del O” or in English “the sign of the O.” My guess is that similar laws were in effect in Spain and that the name De la O refers to this badge. If this is the case, then it might explain the many New Mexicans who have this name and that it was attched to families who emigrated to New Mexico from Mexico to escape the Inquisition. These families, originally Jewish, are referred to as “conversos” in New Mexico as they nominally converted to Christianity to avoid persecution. See Ross King’s book “Leonardo and the Last Supper”, pages 236 and following for an explanationof the “segne del O.” ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/22 "2013-04-08T02:19:25Z")
I once asked a bearer of the surname what it meant. He was sure it was a short form of “de la Ochoa” - but that was only family lore. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/23 "2013-04-08T02:47:38Z")
> [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](#): > > Similarly, _de la Sol_ would mean “of the sun.” > [@Antonius\_Block](#): > > [nitpick] > “of the sun” would be **del sol**. > [/nitpick] _De La Soul_, however, would mean “3 feet high and rising.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/24 "2013-04-08T06:27:06Z")
The full firtsname is María de la O and refers to _Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza_, aka _La Virgen de la O_: “Our Lady of Good Hope”, pregnant images of Our Lady. The “O” refers to the ready-to-pop belly. Is this our first pregnant zombie? Ochoa is a Basque masculine noun meaning wolf; while the surname Ochoa is the most common Basque-origin one, “de la Ochoa” makes no grammatical sense (it could be “de Ochoa”, but never “de la Ochoa”) - that person’s family tale was mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/25 "2013-04-08T09:31:27Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > _De La Soul_, however, would mean “3 feet high and rising.” Wasn’t that covered by Katrina and the Waves? (Or am I thinking of New Orleans?) ---
**Author:** ![rdelao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rdelao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rdelao)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/26 "2016-12-22T05:13:35Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > 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. ☹ I’m showing up several years late this this party. This was my Grandpa’s and Great Uncle’s TV show, the Val De La O show. It was really a success with humble beginnings. > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > If you speak Spanish, can you tell me what “La O” means, if anything? I’m told it originates from Spain, and long before that, France, where the name used to be 'De La Eaux" which meant “from the waters” I’m happy to answer any questions. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/27 "2016-12-22T05:34:03Z")
Hello **rdelao** , and welcome to the Straight Dope! 🙂 > [@rdelao](#): > > I’m told it originates from Spain, and long before that, France, where the name used to be 'De La Eaux" which meant “from the waters” Hmm, probably not quite. Although _eau_ “water” is feminine, the definite article before the initial vowel is elided to _l’eau_, not _la eau_. Moreover, the plural form _eaux_ would require the plural article, so it would be _les eaux_, not _la eaux_. And with the _de_ preposition it would become _des eaux_. However, if you use the correct singular form _de l’eau_, that would plausibly hispanicize to _De La O_. Which is the etymology suggested in, for example, [this source](http://cafedelao.blogspot.com/2009/06/origins-of-de-la-o-family-in-americas.html): > [@](#): > > Finally, my research has pointed one of the origins of the surname in France, in the region of la Vierge de l’eau. Which means Virgin of the Water, this place is famous because the Virgin Mary apeared over a water spring. Someone took the surname De l’eau, -probably happened around the 1485 by orders of the Vatican (long story)- and consequently when he or she moved to Spain the name changed from eau to O, because the word eau is pronounced exactly like the letter “O” in spanish. I’m sure that the ones of you who speak spanish will understand it better. After one or two generations the name became De La O […] On the other hand, as previous posters have noted, there’s already a well attested indigenous Spanish etymology for the Virgin Mary as “Nuestra Señora de la O”, so maybe this whole French-origin hypothesis is just a _hareng rouge_. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/28 "2016-12-22T05:42:26Z")
> [@rdelao](#): > > I’m told it originates from Spain, and long before that, France, where the name used to be 'De La Eaux" which meant “from the waters” > > I’m happy to answer any questions. “From the waters” would be “des eaux”. “From water” or “from the water” would be “de l’eau”. “De la eau”/“de la eaux” is not French. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/29 "2016-12-22T09:44:49Z")
There is a French family, surnamed _d’O_, who trace their origin back to a knight banneret of Normandy, _Robert d’O_, in the time of William the Conqueror. They were lords of a town — named _O_ — near the Orne River in Normandy. My Googling offers no further comment about the name, let alone surprise over its brevity. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/30 "2016-12-22T10:11:46Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > There is a French family, surnamed _d’O_, who trace their origin back to a knight banneret of Normandy, _Robert d’O_, in the time of William the Conqueror. They were lords of a town — named _O_ — near the Orne River in Normandy. My Googling offers no further comment about the name, let alone surprise over its brevity. But it’s frequently referenced in _The Simpsons_. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/31 "2016-12-22T13:24:54Z")
There are a great many place names in the French-speaking world that begin with _Haute-_ (meaning “upper” and pronounced a bit like the English word “oat”, but with the “t” sound unaspirated). Examples include Haute-Savoie, Haute-Garonne, Haute-Vienne, and Haute-Loire. There are no doubt [toponymic surnames](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymic_surname) for these places, such as _de la Haute-Savoie_ (meaning “of Upper Savoy”). It’s not inconceivable that some such names may have gotten shortened to “de la O”, particularly upon immigration to an English-speaking country. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392/32 "2016-12-23T05:43:53Z")
Why would such an evolution keep an unpronounced vowel and the spaces intact in the written form while phonetizing only the last word? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-name-de-la-o/306392.md?page=1)