[2] It was originally a patronymic, meaning "Son of Lope", Lope itself being a Spanish given name deriving from Latin lupus, meaning "wolf".

López is the fifth most common Hispanic surname globally and in Spain and the USA.

[citation needed] It is the most common surname in the province of Lugo.

As of 2014, 34.8% of all known bearers of the surname López were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:40), 10.0% of Spain (1:52), 8.2% of Guatemala (1:22), 7.3% of the United States (1:547), 7.1% of Colombia (1:75), 5.0% of Argentina (1:96), 3.8% of Venezuela (1:88), 2.7% of Honduras (1:36), 2.7% of Peru (1:131), 2.6% of the Philippines (1:438), 2.5% of Nicaragua (1:27), 2.1% of Cuba (1:62), 1.8% of Ecuador (1:99), 1.6% of El Salvador (1:44), 1.4% of Paraguay (1:56), 1.3% of Chile (1:148) and 1.1% of Bolivia (1:104).

In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:52) in the following regions: In Guatemala, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:22) in the following departments: In Mexico, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:40) in the following states:[3]