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Basque surnames are those found in the Basque Country, a region of Northwestern Spain and Southwestern France known as Euskadi, as well as in the Basque Diaspora (known as "Zortzigarren Probintzia" in North and South America.[1]
Some Basque surnames were rendered using Spanish orthography in the Middle Ages and spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula, to the point that many common Iberian surnames are of Basque origin, even though they might not appear to be Basque. Basque surnames can usually be differentiated from Spanish or French surnames due to the Euskera orthography, based in a language not related to any other on the planet. Being an agglutinative language, it can have very long surnames created by the addition of prefixes and suffixes, like Olartikoetxea, Iturriagaetxebarria, Gatzagaetxebarena, Barinagarementeria and Burionagonatotorecagageazcoechea, the longest Basque surname.[2]
There are over 25,0000 Basque surnames, some just being carried by a few people and thus at a very high risk of extinction.
History of Basque surnames
The earliest documented Basque surnames occur on inscriptions from the time of the Roman conquest of Hispania and Gallia Aquitania. In most cases, these can be easily equated with modern or medieval Basque surnames, for example, Enneconis (the personal Basque name Eneko plus the Latin genitive ending '-is', stem augmented by '-n') became the surname Enekoitz.
Basque naming conventions
Following the legal conventions in Spain, Basques in Spain have double legal surnames, the first being the paternal surname and the second the maternal one. In France, Basques legally have only one surname, according to the conventions there. However, most Basques may know by heart the surnames of their ancestors by at least a few generations.
Basque surnames in French and Spanish orthography
Since the Middle Ages, Basques were repressed in the use of their language and had to resort to either French or Spanish orthographies to write their names. After Euskara batua (standard Basque) was developed as a common written standard in 1960, the number of foreign spelling variants has begun to decrease. This is important to take into account when researching Basque surnames.
| Standard Basque | Spanish Spelling | French Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Aroztegi | Arostegui | Rosteguy |
| Bolibar | Bolívar | Bolivare |
| Elizalde | Elizalde | Elissalde/Delissalde/Delissalt |
| Etxeberria | Echeverría | Etcheverry/Detcheverry/Echeverri |
| Etxepare | Echepare | Etchepare/Detchepare |
| Ezkibel | Esquivel | Esquibel |
| Intxausti | Inchausti | Ynchausty |
| Zubiri | Zubiri | Çubiry |
Basque patronymic surnames
The vast majority of Basque surnames are of patronymic origin. The particle '-iz', meaning "son of" is of Basque origin.[3] Its use spread to Spanish as "-ez" and eventually, to Portuguese after the Reconquista, when the Douro river basin was repopulated with people from the Basque Country,[4] which makes surnames like González, Fernández, Pérez, López, and Sánchez not just some of the most common surnames in Spain but also in the Basque Country. In the Basque language, '-z' is added to the end of the word if it ends in vowel or '-ez' if the word ends in a consonant; however, the grammar of the patronymic endings '-ez', '-iz' or '-oz' is sometimes used to denote origin or content as well. The Basque surnames can also indicate family links with the genitive suffix '-(r)ena' (Mitxelena, Arruabarrena) which means 'belonging to'.
Basque toponymic surnames
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The Basque location-based surnames can be formed using nouns, adjectives, suffixes and endings like the absolutive ending '-a', the adjectival suffix '-ko', and the genitive ending '-ren', like Ibarra ("the valley"), Zubiondo (near the bridge), Mendieta ("hilly place"), Goikoetxea ("the high lying house"), which make Basque toponymic surnames relatively easy to identify by the presence of these elements. The names of some places, like Bilbao or Iruña, can be found as surnames without the Spanish composite.
Basque composite surnames
In some parts of the Spanish Basque Country like Navarra and especially Álava, surnames often take a first part of Castilian origin, usually a patronymic ending in -ez, then the Spanish particle 'de' (of) and finally the name of a place in the Basque language, often a village, for example, Fernández de Larrea or González de Urreta.[5]
Basque occupational surnames
There are some, less common, Basque surnames associated with occupation but adding the genitive suffix '-(r)ena, like Mariñelarena ("of the sailor").
Basque descriptive surnames
The Basque descriptive surnames can trace their origins to the Middle Ages, and can originate from an animal or a place, like Otxoa ("wolf") or its derivative Otxotorena ("little wolf's house"), Belea ("raven") and its derivative Belasko ("little raven") which is common in Spanish as "Velasco" and which evolved into the patronymic "Velázquez". After the conquest of the Iberian part of Navarre in the 16th century, the usage of Basque names was banned in Spain with the support of the Catholic Church.[6] Basque people started to use Spanish first names, while adopting surnames in Basque that described a place, like Madariaga (pear grove) or Luzuriaga ("place of white earth") or less commonly, personal traits, like Gorrotxategi ("place of the redheads").[7]
Popular Basque surnames
Ironically, and as a result of the restrictions on the use of the Basque language, the most common Basque surnames are common Castillian-sounding surnames as they have been registered using Spanish orthographic rules.[7] In the Spanish Basque Country, only Aguirre (often spelled Agirre) appears as a common 'pure' Basque surname:
Celebrities with Basque surnames
- Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican filmmaker
- Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, born Máxima Zorreguieta
- Sofía Vergara Vergara, Colombian actress
- Sebastián Piñera Echenique, twice President of Chile
See also
Explore more about Basque surnames
- Search Your Last Name on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Spain on MyHeritage
- Historical records from France on MyHeritage
References
- ↑ Euskal diaspora, zortzigarren probintzia. Euskal Kultur Erakudea
- ↑ Albaigès, Josep M. Enciclopedia de los nombres propios. Editorial Planeta, 1995. ISBN 84-08-01286-X
- ↑ Salaberri Zaratiegi, Patxi. Topónimos alaveses de base antroponímica terminados en –iz, -ez y –ona / -oa. Universidad de Navarra
- ↑ De Miguel, Amando. Huellas de Vasconia en la vieja Castilla. Libertad Digital. August 04, 2022
- ↑ Carracedo, Sergio. Siete curiosidades de los apellidos de los alaveses. El Correo. May 03, 2014
- ↑ Vigor, Iñaki. Cuando los nombres vascos eran contrarios «a la unidad de la Patria». Naiz. May 02, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 ¿Es tu apellido de origen vasco?. Partekatu.com