Basque surnames
Encyclopedia
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
(like Johnson
Johnson
Johnson is an English, Scottish, and Irish name of Norman origin. The name itself is a patronym of the given name John, literally meaning "son of John." The name John derives from Latin Johannes, which is derived through Greek Ἰωάννης Iōannēs, from Hebrew יוחנן Yohanan meaning "Yahweh has favoured"...
in English), or based on personal features (like Brown
Brown (surname)
Brown is a surname of English and Scottish origin. It also originates independently in the United States, as an Anglicization of several other surnames, such as the German Braun. Among the earliest recorded Browns is John Brown of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England in 1312. Brown is one of the most...
or Smith
Smith (surname)
Smith is an English family name originating in England. It is the most common surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in Ireland...
) but refer to the family's etxea, the historically all important family home.
When a farm (baserri
Baserri
A baserri is a traditional type of half-timbered or stone-built farmhouse found in the Basque Country in Northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrace portals, are highly characteristic of the region and form a vital part in traditional Basque...
) was rented to another family, often the new tenants were known locally by the farm name rather than by their officially registered surname.
History
The earliest documented Basque surnames occur on AquitanianAquitanian language
The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages....
inscriptions from the time of the Roman conquest of Hispania and Gallia Aquitania
Gallia Aquitania
Gallia Aquitania was a province of the Roman Empire, bordered by the provinces of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Narbonensis, and Hispania Tarraconensis...
. For the most part these can be easily identified with modern or medieval Basque surnames, for example ENNECONIS (the personal name Eneko plus the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
genitive ending -IS) > Enekoitz.
García
García (surname)
García is a surname common throughout the Americas, the Philippines and Spain. There are several theories about its origin and history, but it is probably of Basque origin...
, one of the most frequent Spanish surnames, was originally a Basque first name stemming from Basque "gartzia", 'the young'. Mediaeval Basque names follow this descriptive naming pattern about the person, pointing to physical features, family relations or geographical origin, e.g. Eneko (Spanish Iñigo) may be a hypochoristic mother-to-child addressing, 'my little'. Modern surname "Jiménez", mediaeval "Xemenis" and like spelling variants, may stem from the root "seme", 'son', along the lines of similar Aquitanian instances (cf. "Sembeconni").
In the Middle Ages, a totemic animal figure often stood for the person's presumable features. Otxoa
Ochoa
-Surname origins:Ochoa was originally a given name in medieval Spain. It originated in the Basque Country and means 'wolf' . There was also a female given name Ochanda -Surname origins:Ochoa was originally a given name in medieval Spain. It originated in the Basque Country and means 'wolf' (spelled...
("wolf") was a Basque version of the Romance name Lope, but now it is a surname. "Velasco" was a name, later to become a surname, derived from Basque "belasko", 'small raven'. "Aznar" is a mediaeval Basque, Gascon and Spanish surname arguably based on old Basque "azenari", 'fox' (modern Basque "azeri", cf. old Basque "Zenarrutza" vs. modern Basque "Ziortza").
This characteristic Basque naming tradition came to a halt when in the 16th century Catholic Church tightened regulations to christenize practices that didn't stick to the Church's orthodoxy (cf. given name Ochanda, 'female wolf', in Vitoria-Gasteiz still in the 16th century). Thereafter, Romance first names were imposed, while surnames went on to express place descriptions (e.g. "Luzuriaga", 'place of white earth') and parental origin (e.g. "Marinelarena
Mariñelarena
Mariñelarena or Marinelarena is a Basque surname that has its origins in the village of Betelu, located north of Navarra, Spain and close to the frontier with Gipuzkoa.-Etymology and history:The surname means in the Basque language "...of the sailor"...
", 'the sailor's son') for the most part.
Orthography
During the medieval period Basque names were written broadly following the spelling conventions of the official languages of the day, usually SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
The main differences lie in the way the relatively large number of Basque sibilants are spelled. These are especially hard to represent using French spelling conventions so on the whole, the French spelling of Basque words in general tends to be harder to reconcile with the modern spellings and the pronunciation. Also, vowel initial Basque surnames from the Northern Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
acquired an initial d (French de) in many cases, often obscuring the original Basque form e.g. Duhalt < de + uhalte ('the stream environs'), Dotchandabarats < de + otxandabaratz ('orchard of the female wolf'), Delouart < del + uharte ('between streams').
Since the introduction of Standard Basque
Batua
Standard Basque is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country...
and a common written standard, the number of non-indigenous spelling variants has begun to reduce, especially in Spain, taking on a form in accordance with the meaning of the surname in Basque, which remains irrelevant in other language spellings.
| Modern Standard | Spanish Spelling | French Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Zubiri | Zubiri | Çubiry |
| Elizalde | Elizalde | Elissalde/Delissalde |
| Etxeberria | Echeverría | Etcheverry/Detcheverry |
| Etxepare | Echepare | Etchepare/Detchepare |
| Ezkibel | Esquivel | Esquibel |
| Intxausti | Inchausti | Ynchausty |
Note that in the French-based spellings the D is unhistoric and represents the French partitive particle d "of".
Conventions
As is the legal convention in Spain, Basques in the South have double legal surnames, the first being that of the father and the second that of the mother. In the North, Basques legally have only one surname as is the convention in France. Nonetheless, most Basques can at least recite the surnames of their parents and grandparents generation.The founder of Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
, Sabino Arana
Sabino Arana
Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, , was a Spanish and Basque writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party and father of Basque nationalism....
, demanded a certain quantity of Basque surnames from his followers to reject people of mixed lineage.
In Alava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
and west of Navarre a distinctive formula has been followed, with the surname being composite, i.e. [a first title of Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
origin, usually a patronymic] + de + [a Basque place-name (usually a village)], take for instance Fernández de Larrinoa, Ruiz de Gauna or López de Luzuriaga, meaning 'Fernández from Larrinoa', etc., which does not imply a noble origin. Therefore, surnames can be very long if both paternal and maternal surnames are required when filling out a form for example.
Such forms have been found from as early as 1053
For a while it was popular in some circles to follow a convention of stating one's name that was invented by Sabino Arana in the latter part of the 19th century. He decided that Basque surnames ought to be followed by the ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
ic suffix -(t)ar. Thus he adopted the habit of giving his name, Sabino Arana Goiri, as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin. This style was adopted for a while by a number of his fellow PNV/EAJ
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
supporters but has largely fallen out of fashion now.
These descriptive surnames can become very long.
The family will probably be known by a short form or a nickname.
The longest Spanish surname recorded is Burionagonatotorecagageazcoechea sported by an employee at the Ministry of Finances in Madrid in 1867.
Types and composition
The majority of modern Basque surnames fall into two categories:- a descriptive of the family house. This usually either refers to the relative location of the home or the purpose of the building.
- the first owner of the house. Usually this is a man's name. These surnames are relatively recent
Surnames from either category are formed using nouns, adjectives, a number of suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es and endings such as the absolutive ending -a, the relational suffix -ko and the genitive ending -ren.
An example of the second class are Martinikorena ("Martinico's [house]", Martinico being a Navarrese hypocoristic for Martin
Martin (name)
Martin may either be a surname or given name.Martin is a common given and family name in most European languages. It comes from the Latin name Martinus, which is a late derived form of the name of the Roman god Mars, the protective godhead of the Latins...
).
Another would be Mikelena, "Michael's".
The following examples all relate to the location of the family home.
| Surname | Elements | Meaning |
| Arrigorriagakoa | (h)arri "stone" + gorri "red" + aga "place of" + -ko "of" + -a "the" | the one of the place of the red stones Arrigorriaga Arrigorriaga is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Arrigorriaga is located 7 km south of Bilbao and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area... |
| Aroztegi | (h)arotz "smith/carpenter" + -tegi "place" | smith's workshop/carpentry |
| Bidarte | bide "way" + arte "between" | between the ways |
| Bolibar | bolu "mill" + ibar "valley" | mill valley |
| Elkano | elke "vegetable garden" + no "small" | small vegetable garden |
| Elizondo | eliza "church" + ondo "nearby" | near the church |
| Etxandi | etxe "house" + handi "big" | big house |
| Etxarte | etxe "house" + arte "between" | house between |
| Etxeberri | etxe "house" + berri "new" | new house |
| Goikoetxe | goi "high place" + etxe "house" | high lying house |
| Ibaiguren | ibai "river" + guren "edge" | river's edge |
| Ibarra | ibar | valley |
| Loiola | lohi "mud" + -ola "place" | muddy place |
| Mariñelarena Mariñelarena Mariñelarena or Marinelarena is a Basque surname that has its origins in the village of Betelu, located north of Navarra, Spain and close to the frontier with Gipuzkoa.-Etymology and history:The surname means in the Basque language "...of the sailor"... |
Marinela "sailor" + suffix "rena" | the sailor's (home/son) |
| Mendiluze | mendi "mountain" + luze "long" | the long mountain |
| Mendoza Mendoza (disambiguation) Mendoza is a surname of Basque origin, also occurring as a place name. It means Cold Mountain, from words in the Basque language, mendi and otz + definite article '-a' . When related to Spain, it usually applies to the descendants of the Mendoza family, an old basque noble family originally from... |
mendi "mountain" + hotza "cold" | cold mountain |
| Urberoaga | ur "water" + bero "hot" + -aga "place of" | the place of the hot water |
| Zabala | zabal "wide" | the wide one |
| Zubiondo | zubi "bridge" + ondo "nearby" | near the bridge |
Recognising Basque surnames
Basque surnames are relatively easy to spot through the high frequency of certain elements and endings used in their formation, bearing in mind the spelling variants. Outside the Basque CountryBasque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
, Basque surnames are often found in Spain and France, the former Spanish colonies
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
in parts of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the Philippines and parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
such as Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
where substantial numbers of Basques emigrated to.
| Modern Spelling | Meaning | Older Spellings |
|---|---|---|
| -aga | place of | |
| agirre | prominence | aguirre |
| -alde | side | alde |
| -arte | between | art |
| aurre(a) | front | |
| barren(a) | inner, lowest. Often in a pair with goien | |
| behe | down | be, ve |
| berri(a) | new | berry, varri, verría, verry |
| bide(a) | way, path | vida, vide |
| buru | head, end | bure |
| garai(a) | high | garay |
| goi | high | goy |
| eliza | church | eliç(e), elic(e), eliss, elex, elej |
| -eta | abundance of | ette |
| etxe(a) | house | ech, eche, etche |
| gorri(a) | red | corri, gourry |
| (h)aritz(a) | oak | áriz, harits |
| (h)arri(a) | stone | harri, harry |
| iturri | source | |
| mendi(a) | mountain | mendy |
| -ola | hut, forge | olha |
| -ondo | nearby | onde |
| sagar(ra) | apple | |
| -tegi | home, workshop | tegui |
| -(t)za | abundance | |
| urru(ti) | far, beyond | |
| zabal(a) | wide, meadow | çabal, zábal, zaval |
| -zahar(ra) | old | zar, zaar |
Specific surnames
- Agirre/Aguirre
- Semen/Jiménez
- MariñelarenaMariñelarenaMariñelarena or Marinelarena is a Basque surname that has its origins in the village of Betelu, located north of Navarra, Spain and close to the frontier with Gipuzkoa.-Etymology and history:The surname means in the Basque language "...of the sailor"...