Real

Family name origins & meanings

• Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and Galicia : habitational name from any of the numerous places called Real; those in Galicia and Portugal being named from real ‘royal’, while those in southern Spain and Catalonia are named in part from real meaning ‘encampment’, ‘rural property’ (Arabic rạhāl ‘farmhouse’, ‘cabin’).
• French (Réal) and Spanish : from southern French réal, Spanish real ‘royal’, hence a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal manner or an occupational name for someone in the service of the king.
• French (Réal) : habitational name from any of various places named for having been part of a royal domain (see Reau, Reaux).
• Probably an Americanized spelling of German Riehl, Riel, or Rühl (see Ruehl).