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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Spanish : nickname for a person with some peculiarity of the cheek or jaw, Spanish carrillo. The word is attested since the 13th century, but its origin is uncertain. It appears to be a diminutive of carro ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, and it has been suggested that the reference is to the movements of the jaw in chewing. The surname may also have denoted originally a bold or shameless person; for the semantic development compare Cheek.

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