Salazar (surname)

Salazar, sometimes spelled as Salasar, is a Basque surname meaning old hall (from Castilian Sala (hall) and Basque zahar (old)).[1] The name originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile. Although nowadays northern Burgos is not a Basque-speaking region, it was during the early Middle Ages when the surname appeared.

Its origins are also related to a certain noble family, the Salazars, that held a fief in the area.[2] During the 10th century, the surname appears as mentioned in Navarre, where it spread and there even exists a Salazar Valley. It later also spread to the rest of the Basque Country, being specially common in Biscay during the 15th century. During that time, Lope García de Salazar, a famous writer, took part in the Reconquista of Cuenca, where he was granted a fief and founded a notable family. Some of his descendants took part in the Conquest of America, thus spreading the surname all through the Spanish Americas; others intermarried many noble families, and the surname spread all through the Iberian peninsula.

Salazar is also a common surname among Roma people.[2] Due to several censuses made in the Kingdom of Castile during the 14th and 15th centuries, every Castilian subject was forced to take a name and two surnames. The Roma, who used to call themselves only by a first name, decided to take established surnames to add prestige to their families.[3] They chose from among the oldest noble families, usually of Basque origin, thus it is extremely common to find Roma with surnames such as Heredia, Salazar, Mendoza, or Montoya.[4]

People

The following is a list of notable people with the surname Salazar:

References

  1. ↑ Trask, R. L. (1997). The History of Basque. Routledge. p. 344. ISBN 0-415-13116-2.
  2. 1 2 "Salazar". Supercable.es. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  3. ↑ GAMELLA, Juan F.; GÓMEZ ALFARO, Antonio y PÉREZ PÉREZ, Juan (2012). Los apellidos de los gitanos españoles en los censos de 1783-85. Revista de Humanidades [en línea], n. 19, artículo 3, ISSN 2340-8995.
  4. ↑ Diccionario de apellidos españoles, Roberto Faure, María Asunción Ribes, Antonio García, Editorial Eswpasa, Madrid 2001. ISBN 84-239-2289-8. Section III.3.8 page XXXIX.

Bibliography

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