Spanish and French: from the medieval personal name Ponce,
ultimately from Pontius, a Roman family name of uncertain
origin, perhaps an ethnic name for someone from Pontus (named
with Greek pontos ‘ocean’) in Asia Minor, or an Italic cognate
of Latin Quintus ‘fifth’ (i.e. ‘fifth-born’). The name was
borne by two 3rd-century saints, a Carthaginian deacon and a martyr of
Nice, but was not widely popular in the Middle Ages because of the
inhibiting influence of the even more famous Pontius Pilate. In some
cases, though, the surname may have been originally used for someone
who had played the part of this character in a religious play.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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