Last name
The surname is the anthroponymic name of the family with which people are distinguished.
Introduction
In Western tradition surnames often have these origins:
- Names of person: Own names or stack names that, without change or with the addition of any special suffix, become a family name of anthropogenic origin. Several examples: Garcés (associated García), González (vis-à-vis Gonzalo), López (apart from Lope), Martínez (apart from Martín), Rodríguez (apart from Rodrigo), Ruiz (subject to Rui or Ruy, diminutive of Rodrigo), Friedrichsohn (excluding Friedrich, Federico), McArthur (excluding Arthur), McDonald (exempt, Donaldo), Paulov (excluding, Pablo), Petrov (excl. In many cases, these suffixes derive from the Roman genitive suffix: '-ici' or are analogous to it. In other cases, suffix means son. For example, Sørensen means "son of Søren."
- Names of trade: Since in the Middle Ages in much of Europe the trades were hereditary within the family, that facilitated the identification of a particular family with a certain trade. For that reason, after generations, the denomination of certain families was linked to names of trades. Examples: Herrero, Herrera, Herranz or De Herrera, Ferreiro, Ferreira or Ferreyra, Pastor; Fuster, Moliner, Müller; Schulze, Fischer, Schneider, Schumacher, Zapatero, Sabater or Sabaté; Smith, Schmidt, Fisher, Taylor, Schiffer; Ravelino, Rabellini, Rabellino.
- Names of physical characteristics: according to the color of the hair or some notorious physical characteristic frequently attributable to a large part of the members of a family. Examples: Dorado, Rubio, Moreno, Calvo, Caamaño, Calvete, Bermejo, Royo; Pétit; Klein, Krause, Schwarzkopf; etc.
- Toponymics, names of places (villages, towns, cities, provinces, regions, countries): associated with toponymic Gentiles who designate the origin of a particular family. Examples: Ávila, Águila, Borobia, Tudela, Spain, Aragon, Barcelona, Lérida, France, Zaragoza, Toledo, Seville, Valencia, Segovia, Portugal, Villar/Vilar (small town, village), Padrón, Montilla, Elizabelar/Elissabelar (campo, pradera), Carranza, etc.
The previous categories do not exhaust all the possibilities, but the vast majority of surnames used by languages of European origin belong to one of the previous categories.
Most common surnames in Spanish-speaking countries
The most common last name in Spanish-speaking countries is:
- Argentina: González.
- Chile: González.
- Colombia: Rodríguez.
- Ecuador: Zambrano.
- Spain: García.
- Guatemala: López.
- Paraguay: González.
- Peru: Quispe.
- Mexico: Hernandez.
- Uruguay: Rodríguez.
- Venezuela: González.
Formal aspects
In Spain, Cardinal Cisneros started in 1505 the system of fixing surnames that continues to this day; Before, siblings born to the same father and the same mother could have different last names. From the XIX century in Spain and in Hispanic America it was imposed, first as usage and later as a norm in various fields administrative, legal, military, among others, the double surname system; in the first place, that from the father's family and secondly that of the mother (paternal and maternal surnames, respectively). In Argentina, traditionally, only the paternal surname was used, not the maternal one, but a bill promoted in 2006 made this situation standardize to that of the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries, however, the Civil and Commercial Code established the use of a single surname, of either parent, and optionally that of the other parent. Therefore, it has been consolidated in the Hispanic sphere that the formal identification or name of a person is made up of: given name (or simply name, and it can be more than one) - paternal surname and maternal surname, in this order. Additionally, and unofficially, it is considered that the relationship of each person's own surnames can be extended to the set of paternal and maternal ones, interspersing them, that is, the first surname of a person is the first surname of his father, his second surname is the his mother's first surname, the third surname is his father's second surname, the fourth surname is his mother's second, etc. In this way, a person can consider that they have as many surnames as correspond to those of their ancestors, although in Hispanic countries only the registration of two surnames is generally allowed. Since 1999 Spanish legislation allows changing the order of surnames. In this way, by mutual agreement of the parents, the maternal surname can precede that of the father. Additionally, since 2017 the surname of a newborn must be agreed between the parents (if there is no agreement, the official decides) and not use the father's first by default.
In Portuguese the same system is used, but the surnames are inverted (an influence that was rooted in the Canary Islands for several centuries). This fact (recording the mother's last name first and then the father's) occurs in both Portugal and Brazil. Meanwhile, in many countries of the world only the paternal surname is inherited. A woman's surname traditionally changes after marriage in some cultures, although few countries mandate such a change.
The use of surnames is very different among the cultures of the world. In particular, the inhabitants of Tibet and Java often do not use a surname.
In Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, a person's full name (anthroponym) consists of a given name, patronym, and surname. Most Russian surnames are of patronymic origin, that is, derived from masculine names by adding the suffix -ov (a) or -ev. (a), where the "a" used for the female gender. However, patronyms have the suffix -óvich or -évich for the masculine gender and the suffix -ovna or -evna for the feminine. For example, if a Russian named Ivan Petrovich Pavlov had a son named Sergei and a daughter named Irina, his full names would be Sergei Ivanovich Pavlov and Irina Ivanovna Pavlova.
In Iceland, the surname consists simply of the patronymic with the suffix -son (son) or -dóttir (daughter). For example, Guðmund Jónsson's children would be Stefán Guðmundsson (son) and Vígdis Guðmundsdóttir (daughter), while Stefán's would be Þór Stefánsson (son) and Guðrún Stefánsdóttir (daughter), as is the case with singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir (see Icelandic name).
In the Czech Republic a woman's full name consists of her first name and last name. Most Czech surnames are of patronymic origin, i.e. derived from masculine names by adding the suffix -ová or changing the suffix -cký/ -ský to -cká/ -ská (only) for the feminine. For example, if a Czech named Josef Dostál had a daughter named Marie and a son named Mikulaš, his full names would be Marie Dostálová and Mikulaš Dostál. Ese -ová and/or -cká are feminine forms, which in the masculine would be -ov or -cký, which means of (From Celis, From Jensen, From Martínez) or also from something (from a glass, from a vase) or, in the case of surnames in -cký, -ský, -cká, -ská. from somewhere (from Prague, from Vienna). There are also surnames that have the form of adjectives and are declined in the same way.
In Equatorial Guinea there were women's surnames, which indicated the female line from which a woman came, a custom that is being lost in favor of the Spanish system, with the protests of some, who say that, being the surnames markers of the ancestors How is a person going to descend from two males?
Registration and modification of surnames
The registration of surnames is done when registering a person in the Civil Registry. The regulations of each country define the limits allowed in the registry.
For example, current Spanish legislation limits the number of simple names in the registry to two and the registered person must have as their first and second surnames those whose first names are their respective parents in the order decided by the parents, being the It is more common for the first surname of the father to be chosen and then that of the mother, as had been the norm for more than a century in Spain. This possibility of choosing the order of the surnames when registering was legislated on November 5, 1999: the order of the surnames can be chosen at the time of registering a person at birth, conditioning the rest of the registrations of children of the same parents., and add or remove the prefix 'de'. After reaching the age of majority, it will be the interested party who may request the change of order. In addition, same-sex couples who, as a consequence of Law 13/2005 of June 30, decide to adopt have to choose the order of their first child's surnames, which would be maintained.
Additionally, Spanish law allows the union of two surnames to form a compound surname. This practice is common when the second surname (the one that comes from the mother) is not common and you do not want to lose it. Joining both surnames into a single compound surname (usually with a hyphen) ensures that it will not be lost when interspersed with other surnames in later generations.
Origin of Hispanic surnames
Most surnames, depending on their origin, can be divided into:
- Patronic surnames.
- Toponymic surnames.
- Surnames derived from common names.
- Surnames derived from trades or professions.
- Descriptive or nicknamed names.
- Castilianized surnames.
Patronymic surnames
Patronymic surnames are those that have originated from a proper name and are the most widespread set of surnames in Spain and the Hispanic area. Patronymics from the crown of Castile are often derived from the father's name through the endings -ez, -oz, -iz and even -az. Some scholars believe that it is rather a term of pre-Roman origin transferred to the Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula. The Germanic ending -iks present in Gothic names has also been pointed out as a possible origin. It is significant that the endings -ez, -iz, -oz are used in the Basque language with origin or modal value such as egurrez made of wood, stone harriz, ardoz of wine or latinez from Latin. -es (in Galicia and Portugal), -is (in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia), -iz (in the Basque Country), -i (in Asturias). For example, the given name Lope derives López, while the corresponding Catalan surname is Llopis, and the Portuguese Lopes. In Portuguese-speaking countries, an ending with the same origin is used: -es. From Menendo or Melendo derive the forms Menéndez (general in the Spanish language, together with Meléndez), and Melendi (in Asturias); from the Galician-Portuguese form Mendo derive in turn Méndez and Mendes, another example is the Spanish surname Báez (in Spain) and Baz (in Portugal)
Other patronymic formants are -son, -sen, -sohn (literally 'son') used in Germanic languages (Harrison, Morrison, Edison, Hansen, Mendelsohn), or the genitive -ovich / -evich and -ov(a) / -ev(a) of Russian surnames and other Slavic cultures; in addition to the prefixes Ibn 'son' or Bin of the Arabs, Ben or Bar of the Jews (the first is the Hebrew form and the second is the Aramaic form), Mac- and Mc-, from the Scots and Irish, or O'- from the Irish. (See also Icelandic name formation.)
However, some patronymic surnames were not transformed and simply exist as the name that originated them, and which, in some cases, has fallen into disuse (such as, among others, Alonso, Jaime, Bernabé, Bernal, García, Juan, Martín, Vicente or Simón). Other patronymic surnames are formed by prepositional phrase: Del Frade or Del Frate ('son of the friar'), Del Greco ('son of the Greek'), De los Reyes, etc.
A non-patronymic surname par excellence in Spanish is "Expósito" or "Esposito", which in the past was often given to abandoned newborns of unknown parents. In Catalan the equivalent is "Deulofeu" (lit., God made it) or "Trobat" (lit., "found"), in Navarre "Goñi" "del rey", and elsewhere, also perhaps "Tornero" -of the lathe of the Inclusive.
Toponymic surnames
They derive from the name of the place where the person or family associated with the surname lived, came from or owned land. Many are preceded by the preposition "de", "del", "de la" Or they are just Gentiles.
Toponymic surnames are very numerous in Spanish and, for example, form almost 80% of Basque surnames, particularly those that follow a nickname (for example, 'Otxoa de Zabalegi', that is, 'Otxoa, proper medieval name meaning 'the wolf', from Zabalegi'). Therefore, they are much more varied than patronymics although overall used by fewer people than these.
Common names
The flora, fauna or peculiarities existing in a region also seem to be behind many surnames.
Last names of trades or professions
These occupational surnames are those derived from the trade or profession practiced by the person or family associated with the surname.
Last names from nicknames or descriptions
They are those that derive from a description or some nickname of the person or family associated with the last name.
The influence of the Inquisition
Some compound surnames such as San Basilio, San Juan, San Martín, Santamaría, Santana, Santángelo, Santiago or in general those that begin with San, Santa or Santo, Santos, Santi and Santis, were born, among other cases, in times of the Spanish Holy Inquisition, when Sephardim, Moors, Gypsies and other ethnic groups had to flee and change their surnames using these compounds. In short, many surnames described are of an indisputable or undeniable Christian inspiration (connotation, allusion), but since they refer to a messianic word and a messianic or Christian symbol that were never accepted by most Jews, although yes, it is It is plausible to conclude that the words that give rise to the named surnames belong to converted families that adopted them as their own.
Spanish surnames
Surnames Spanishized are those that do not have a Hispanic origin, but that with the influence of Castilian were transformed with a spelling or grammatically to the closest thing in Spanish phonetics; the most common is due to the presence of an individual of a foreign lineage living in Spain or Latin America. Some surnames of indigenous American origin are also Hispanicized, and it is common for some surnames to be adapted to existing ones because they have similar phonetics. Like place names, Catalan surnames and, especially, Galician ones have been largely hispanicized due to the similarity of these languages. Sometimes correctly in translation: Branco > Blanco, and others with serious etymological errors: Freixeiro (fresneda, place populated by ash tree) > Freijeiro.
Last names of slaves
Vicent Graullera Sanaz and other authors tell us about the phenomenon of slavery in the Hispanic kingdoms and place the origin of surnames such as Moreno, Prieto (black) and Pardo in surnames derived from black-skinned slaves.
Jewish Surnames
Despite the large number of Jews who lived for centuries in the Iberian Peninsula, surnames of unequivocal Jewish origin are very rare; It is a widespread myth, especially in Spain and Latin America, that there are specific Jewish surnames. Rather, due to obvious social pressure and to avoid all persecution, Jews have assumed surnames of all kinds to hide their origin and have preferred those with the greatest Jewish identification, which has made identification difficult to the point of requiring a documentary study as meticulous and complete as suspicious. In the words of genealogist Manuel Trujillo Berges.
"For some are surnames of Jewish origin all the surnames of a Toponymic or Gentile type, for others all the surnames of a patronymic type, for others all those who refer to an office, for others all those who bear a name of saint or Marian advocation and for others are all those concerning plants and animals. Come on, that according to these urban legends, evidently all of them false, are of Jewish origin almost every and every last name of Spain"[chuckles]required].
So, logically, many Jewish surnames became Gentiles —for example Calderón, Pereira, Espinoza, Leyva, Méndez, Pérez, Franco, Toledano, etc.—, and the Jews also sought to remain unnoticed in Europe, since they had suffered the wrath of the inquisitors several times, especially in the XIV century, when they were accused of the black plague, among other evils. And more so when the Inquisition was installed in some European Christian countries and with its establishment in Spain after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. The purpose of the Holy Office was to persecute new Christians who allegedly continued to practice their ancient faith. Therefore, the new Jewish Christians were accused of Judaizing if they still practiced their old religion or Muslims of Mohammedanism, as well as persecuting heretics. Therefore, the New Christians of Jewish origin looked for common surnames from the area where they lived,[citation needed] to go as unnoticed as possible, so that the belief that Jews have a common surname type is false.
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