25 Common Basque Last Names
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- Опубліковано 20 січ 2021
- Do you have a Basque last name? With so many people researching their ancestry these days, I'm sharing some common Basque surnames for reference. I hope these examples of common Basque last names help you in your search, and check out the links below for some extra resources on learning more about Basque surnames.
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My grandmother once told me that the Basque language is the only language the devil cannot speak. She was from Spain.
Ah yes...all he learned was bai and ez...And that was it.
My mother told me the same thing. She used to say that Basque people cannot go to hell because the devil could not learn our language so they were unable to tempt us
That's the coolest thing I've heard in a while. 10% Basque, 40% Iberian Peninsula here per DNA.
I remembered reading that experts, can not find the origins/roots, of the Basque language.
lol
I visited the Basque country on the French side of the Pyrenees a few years ago. It was the most beautiful place I've ever been
I the Garonne Valley, etc. French Basque? That is my father's family last name. They had dark curly hair, so I doubt that they were Finnish or Celtic people.
My grandmother was Echevarría. 🙃 She was Basque and Raramuri from Chihuahua, Mexico. I only recently discovered my Basque heritage and it is super interesting.
Watching from Florida, USA. Thanks for the info.
Hi, I'm originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. My grandma's last name is guangorena but had to be changed to gorena to sound more common because pancho villa was killing foreigners, specially those with exotic last names. It seems lots of Vascos went to northern Mexico. I was just in Chihuahua and found out a great deal about my heritage, my uncle told me everything he knew.
@@MiloSatori in aire it is very common. Makes sense since Vascos were part of the colonization of México.
@MARK ESQUIVEL it’s actually reversed bud
@MARK ESQUIVEL no prob☺️my name is also echeverria and I feel very proud of it so I feel like I had to correct u
@MARK ESQUIVEL very unique I never heard of that name
Not Basque or from the Basque Diaspora, have never looked for Basque content, not looking for names. UA-cam just randomly recommended this and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Loved this video!!!... I'm not of Basque descent, but as a Latinamerican, we're so used to know people with Basque surnames and we're not even aware of that: Irizarri, Navarro, Urriola, Iturralde, Esturain, Indurain, Vengoechea, Azcárraga, Larrinaga, Aizpurúa, Balboa, Olazábal, Aristizábal, Urdaneta, Zubizarreta, Legorreta, Sarasqueta, etc... Many Baque names and words, along with Latin, Arabic and some Greek, Gypsy and Germanic elements, formed the Castilian (Spanish) language. We're all united in our diversity.
Greetings from Panama!!! 🇵🇦
I came here to see if Ibarra was listed and found something better! My name comes from my Panamanian Father 🇵🇦 Saludos!
@@cokeymo5611 Wow!!! That's great! You should be proud. A big hug and cheers to you my friend!
🇵🇦🤗
I think only a few of these made it into the Philippines. Maybe there just weren't many of them that got here.
That's true. I've read that the Latin American countries where there's more people with Basque ancestry are Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
@@cristianp.9469 👍🏼👏🏼🤝🏼
The Basques have to be the most interesting people in Europe.
every people are interesting! basque are maybe the most mysterious...
TRUE
the basque have the most atlantean dna even more than egyptians
when atlantis sank they migrated to the iberian penn and were actually cro magon thats why they cave art is so good but in france at that time there were also neanderthals
their
they were already good artist cuz of their advanced studies in atlantis and thier language is like no other cuz it's a atlantean one
My grandfather’s grandfather was Basque came to Mexico. Aldecoa was once spelled as Aldekoa. I have a lot of family in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
A town in Newfoundland called Port Aux Basques is a very interesting Basque settlement from hundreds of years ago. Probably still contains some decently pure Basques lineages.
It’s true. The Basque whalers were here. Newfoundland also has the most RH neg people (like the Basque) out of anywhere else in Canada, despite the Basque not having settled here, officially. It’s kind of an interesting rabbit hole to go down. :)
Wow, cool. A little remnent population from long ago....
To me whe have had to move to the island of StPierre et Miquelon very near "Terre Neuve" after the french indian war . I know that the basque fishermen followed the whales in the north atlantic , and they stayed there to fish the cod!
All of these last names are really really common in Argentina and lots of historical figures had them too! Had no idea they were basque
I understand that some basques migrated to the America way back
Since Argentina's independence some presidents had Basque roots: Urquiza, Uriburu, Yrigoyen, Aramburu...
Argentina has almost 15-20% of basque ascendence in its population
Claudio Arrau...The great Pianist from Argentina...
@@everettamador9885 Claudio Arrau was from Chile
Hi sister , I am definitely not Basque . However I grew up in the Sanwaquine Valley in California . From 1950 untill I turned 17years old and joined the Marine Corps . In the valley back then there were vast herds of sheep any where one looked almost . Graseing on barley and wheat stubble . Of course the sheep were shepherded by Basque Shepard's . To me as a child and even now that I am a 75 year old man , those memories are some of the most precious to me . I would love to spend my last year's hearing sheep . Thank you for your video .
San Joaquin Valley?
It’s San Joaquin
Guire is said to be a French name with Basque origin. Prominent families of Guire's immigrated to England, Scotland and Ireland and had their name changed to McGuire, MacGuire or Maguire....
Aguirre ?
My last name is Menchaca, but recently I learned that my last name is actually spelled Mentxaka in Euskera. I never knew there was a basque diaspora, but I’m super interested in learning more about it in order to reconnect with my roots.
Menchaca was my great grandfather’s last name and it was made very clear to us he was full blooded basque. Thanks for sharing the spelling variation.
Oh that’s really cool! Similar suffix to mine. My last name is Apodaca and I think it’s original spelling was more like Apodaka.
UA-cam randomly showed this video even though I hadn't looked for any prior Basque content before, but I happen to be Basque, currently living in Southern California. Thank you for spreading our culture not only among the Basque-American diaspora but with the rest of the world. Ondo izan eta bai, nik ere abizen euskalduna dut... Izeta :-) Ikusi arte!
Ok, what does that mean? I'm pretty sure you wrote in your language at the end.
@@musicsansnotes It means "Take care. My last name is also Basque... Izeta :-). I'll see you around!"
My coworker had the last name Zazueta. He stated he was Spanish Basque, living in California and every person he had met with the same surname was of his clan. I showed him an edition of Hispanic magazine which mentioned a Mexican businessman with the name Zazueta. He took the magazine and said he would research it. A few days later he said he spoke to his aunt. She indicated the Mexican gentleman was part of their clan which had settled in Mexico.
Hi, my Basque surname is Sarachaga (Saratxaga), from Guenes in Vizcaya. There was an accent over the middle "a" until my great=grandfather emigrated to Cuba, where they dropped the accent. The ayuntamiento in Guenes looks like a pink birthday cake with white frosting! Guenes is near Bilbao and is spelled with two dots over the "u" and a tilde over the "n". Sarachaga means, "from the place of the willows." I'm so glad I found your sites!!! Thanks for the good information! Thanks for all your work!!
My dads father is basque decente, last name Anchondo. I recently found out my heritage! Thank you for making this community, happy to learn more!
I liked your video very much and believe me, your pronunciation is great coming from a californian. Don't know if someone referred it in the comment section but let me appoint this: there's a very common last name with basque origin that doesn't appear in your list and could have likely been the first one. But it's logic, because most people believe it's spanish despite they're wrong: this name is GARCÍA, which means "the young one".
It comes from "gartzea", that is the form Basque speakers used to say "the young" in the Middle Ages. Nowadays it has changed to "gaztea". You can also find the names Garcea or Garcés.
If I'm not mistaken, García is the most common last name in Spain. It's believed that when the christians "reconquered" the whole territories that the moors had occupied for nearly 700 years, almost the whole Iberian Peninsula, a lot of people from the north that never surrendered to Islam started to move southbound to colonize the territories that were being dissocupied. And among them there were a lot of basques, usually young people, sent to do this. That's also why you still can find a lot of places in Spain called "Navarrete" or similar words derived from "Navarra". Because in that ages basques were called "Navarros".
And there's another fact, not accepted from most of the people but which makes perfect sense to me is that the common spanish termination of names -EZ, like Rodríguez or López, that means "son of" also comes from Basque. In basque language words ended in -ez/-iz normally mean "made of" (such as "zurez"/made of wood, "harriz"/made of stone) and López could easily mean what I'm suggesting. By the way, Lope is the same as Otxoa, the wolf, coming from the latin word "lupus".
Hope that I didn't bore you with all this, but being an Euskara speaker with plenty of basque last names, some ended in -ez as well (here we keep all the names, both the father's and the mother's) I find this topic very interesting. Happy I found your videos. Keep on! And again, your pronunciation rocks!!
Besarkada bero bat Euskal Herritik - Big hug from the Basque Country
Gracias por su comemtario.
Arriva Juar-EZ... lol!
My last name is "Rodrguez" do you know what it means?
Raul Rodriguez Gonzales
@@raulgonzales1374 Rodríguez, hijo de Rodrígo, González, hijo de Gonzalo.
My grandmother from Guatemala had an ez in her surname!!❤❤
love this! I am so happy to find new resources to celebrate basque heritage and love seeing everyone chime in with their last names and current countries! so neat, thank you!
Awesome!!! I happen to be a Chavarría - shortened from Echevarría a few generations back. My father came to the US from Costa Rica; lots of Basque names down there. I have been aware of my Basqueness since I was a kid, thanks to Dad. A few years back, I read a great book called A Basque History of the World, by Mark Kurlansky - not a Basque, but a great journalist. It really opened my 👀 eyes to the richness, and importance of Basque culture. I highly recommend it. Keep up the great work!
I was doing genealogy. My mother’s heritage is French. They were early settlers to New France in Canada when King Louis the fourteenth was king. And moved to the very northern United States during my great grandfather’s time. My first ancestor to move to New France had the last name of DesBasque. It was common at the time for the French to use nicknames as last names…and I have not been able to trace back farther. But I’m guessing he was probably Basque
Chronicles of the period indicate that Basques first came to North America in 1517, only seventeen years before French explorer, Jacques Cartier; however, some historians suggest they made the journey before Christopher Columbus in 1492.
I had a lady friend in Zarauz named Aramburu. Her first name an unusual and typically Basque name I'd love to share but don't really have leave. Couldn't avoid awareness of the endless History surrounding you there. Not so much in the buildings, but in the people themselves.The Basque are wonderful. Treat each other as old friends immediately.
My late step dad was Mr. Etchart. He was spanish basque born and raised. God rest your soul.
Really was Etxart. Means in the middle of the house . Etxe = house
@@g.c.8035 Means between of the house..
It's now believed that the Acadian name Cheverie (very common in the Canadian Maritimes and to a lesser degree in Louisiana) is a variant of Etxeberria (Echeverria). The earliest known written use of the name variant is Detcheverry or d'Etcheverry. It was once believed that the name was from chevrier (French: goat-herder). Since then it has been determined that the ancestry of this family is Basque and Mi'kmaq with later French admixture.
I’m one of them ,je suis l’un d’eux, 😎👍
That's really interesting. My great grandpa's last name was Chavarria, it's similar.
@@Trolleyatthestation My maternal grandfather was a Cheverie. Distant cousins maybe? There are so many variants from the centuries of European history when spelling was more an art than a science.
@@davidbennett9691 yeah could be, that's pretty cool. Yep spelling was interesting back then.
One of my last names is Echevarría (shout out to the Etxeberri's out there!) and my family is from Mexico with ancestors from the Basque region. I read somewhere that those who created new farms of corn and potatoes and the like from the New World were given this last name to denote that their lineage is fairly recent. Not sure how true that is though
Los españoles que tenían esclavos los bautizaban y les ponían su apellido
@@arsethr.g3787 unos eran esclavos pero también les daban el apeido si defendían la tierra.
I lived in El Salvador for a couple of years and met lots of people with variations of these names. I live in Idaho which I understand has the largest Basque population outside of the Basque Country and Basque names are quite common here.
In idaho?.... I did not know that.. thats pretty interesting...but were all Americans now!🙂
@@marcosduran1443 Many basque people emigrated to Idaho where they worked as shepherds. Boise has one of the largest Basque origine communities outside the Basque Country.
Hi! I love your channel, & what you are doing for the Basque people away from Euskal Herria. I am mostly Spaniard, but my fathers mother is Basque, Urrutia. And I'm very proud of the Basque heritage that I do have. ✊🏻
Hate to break it to you brother, but the majority of Basques are also Spaniards. Spaniard is a collective term for the people that live within the country of Spain. There is no exact Spanish ethnicity...Galicians, Basques, Catalans, Andalusians, Asturians, Aragonese, Castilians, Valencians, etc....all make up the term "Spaniard".
@@ulical I know what you're trying to say amigo, unfortunately its never quite black & white. Remember General Franco, & ETA? Franco said "eres español, hablas español" to try to force the Basque people to lose their language, outlawed their flag as well. And many Basques fiercely rejected losing their ethnic identity, & some created ETA.. More so than the Basque on the France side where most dont speak Euskara etc.
@@ulical I lived in Spain for 10 years and during that time only Spaniards considered the Basques as Spanish. No self respecting Basques did because of the horrible atrocities they suffered during the Spanish civil war (look up Guernica). Today Spain is much more enlightened and they respect the cultural and language differences of the Catalans, Basques and Gallegos. They now have an autonomous relationship. Having said that Basque is a culture and language totally separate from what we consider "spanish" culture which is really Castilian and Andalusian culture. Also,
@@ulical The Basque are ethnically distinct. Spain through the years conquered most of the Ibarian peninsula which consisted of several districts groups and languages. In a 2017 genetic study by Ancestry, it revealed that there are many distinct variant of the predominant R1b Haplogroups. In an earlier study, it was discovered that the Basque were closer related to remains found in a mesolitgic caves in the Pyrenees mountains. Check Isturitz and Oxocelhaya caves.
Oh hey, Urrutia is also in my family. Have confirmed many ways we are also Basque.
Hello Anne-Marie! I’m so happy I found your channel. As the last American male of Basque/Spanish descent with my last name. I’m curious to learn everything I can about my heritage! Something I’d really like to do is learn the langue. I only know a few words and phrases lol. Anyway, I just subscribed and look forward to going thru your videos. Thanks!
Just found this video and I love it. Aspiazu is my last name, my grandfather came from the town of Lekeitio, Spain in the early 20’s. My family has always been very proud of our Basque heritage. Keep up the great videos, think I’ll watch some of your others now!
Growing up i always thought i was just mexican thats where my family is from sinaloa, im in California also but growing up very curiously went on ancestry and found out i have a basque last name LIZARRAGA meaning ash tree i asked my grandmother who pulled out this super cute book with our families coat of arms showing the ash tree. Thank you for all your videos i want to learn all i can and eventually visit 💖
No such thing as "Just Mexican"...The Mexicans are mixed with Spanish, Hebrew, French, and Irish....Many have green eyes and even reddish hair...Beautiful mixtures! ❤
@@brigittebeltran6701 i didnt mean it like that i just grew up thinking my family was from a certain spot. I have green eyes n light brown reddish hair i knew i was mixed with European i just didnt know what exactly.
Jena Marie my family's last name on my mother's side and born in the same area is also Lizarraga . My Dads side is Samaniego it to is of Basque origin, as a matter-of-fact it is a town or an Administrative Seat ( similar to a county seat )in Basque, also the town of Lizarraga is nearby. I still have family in L.A and Rocky Point that are Lizarraga . My female cousins that are married have been using Lizarraga with their married name , making it easier to locate on Facebook . P. S. Maybe we're related 🤔?
how funny, Jenna Marie, that is my mom's last name too from Sinaloa.
@@samsamaniego3251 I am also a Lizarraga and Garate on my mother's side.
My grandmother née was Boronda. She was 5 th generation California. She was the descendent of Don Jose Manuel Boronda who was born in Jerez, Mexico/ New Spain and served in the Spanish colonial military in Santa Barbara and San Francisco Presidios in 1797 to 1820. When I researched the Boronda family history I learned it was Basque and there were variations of the spelling. The most common was Borunda. The Spanish Padres in New Spain changed the letters on baptismal certificates to sound more Spanish. I discovered that Basque settlers in New Spain used the names of the towns they were from . The closes regional name to Boronda was in the Basque Country called Valle de Burunda. It is interesting to note how many famous explorers, officials and settlers in New Spain were Basque
I’m a 10th generation Californian also working on a very large genealogy project. Family names are Cota, Lugo, Gutierrez, Ortega (Jose Francisco is a direct ancestor), Sepulveda, Carrillo, Bojorquez, Botiller, Millan y Millar, Pico, Yorba… Guadarifa (from the Canary Islands). Some were from Seville, others from Murcia, and surrounding areas. As you go further back on the French side de Trois/deTries, Perdomo, Betancourt, … mostly from Normandy and the area of Rouen…but some Aquitanians, too.
I’m also A-. Though I’m quite certain our names were not “Spanishized” it may have been fairly common practice for baptisms of indigenous people to have the spelling altered.
The vasque considered de more iberian pure tribes because preserve the Last native autoctone language of iberian península... their are endogamics
My mom is from Jerez Zacatecas Mexico and her last name is Ceballos. We don’t know her ancestry yet.
@@isabelleetchebarren8981 in researching the Boronda family name in Jerez, Mexico, we discovered a lot of the church records were burned and destroyed during revolution from Spain. We were lucky to discover a confirmation recorded that showed the parents names of our California descendant . We were able to trace his leaving Jerez and working in the ship building port of San Blas. From there, the Presidio records at Santa Barbara showed he enlisted in the military there and help build the fort and mission . It helps to start your research in California and work back to Jerez, Mexico. Good Luck in your discovery.
@@therealhellkitty5388 You may have explained a long mystery for me. I live on the east coast where we have many, many Portuguese people. The surname Bettencourt is very common among Portugues and Azorrean people. It sounds french...but maybe that name is Basque?
My Dads family is Oribe but became Orive when moved to Australia. Thank you for your videos growing up in Australia we were not exposed to our ancestral language as proud a Basque my Dad was. My ancestory is from the towns near Bilbao Gallerata and Ortuella.
In our language - which is Chechen 🇨🇻 - we have Basque words too. The same in Basque and Chechen in terms of pronunciation and meaning.
That’s the flag of Cabo Verde.
I have no idea why this video showed up in recs, I had never even heard of Basque before tbh. I’m glad I watched! It put me down a very interesting researching path. Basque is super interesting! and it’s one of the few (only?) languages in Europe that is wholly un-related to any other language. So unique
There are some other European languages not related to the rest: Hungarian, Estonian and Finish, but they are related to eachother.
@@frikativos Finno-Ugric language group -- otherwise found in Siberia.
Awesome! Basque Diaspora is all over the world! Best from Izaguirre family now living in the amazing Brazil!
Thank you for going over many of the alternate spellings. I just realized how I may have not recognized the records of ancestors because names were spelled in different ways at different times. I will pay closer attention to characteristic variants of names as I continue my research.
Different spellings are so so interesting. One letter off and it may signify an entire culture of difference, like my surname from "Faulk" to "Falk" has led to a bunch of misunderstanding lol
It’s fascinating that some historians are claiming Basque was part of Ancient Chosen (고조선) , which is modern day Korea.
Goy and Goi means “high” so is Go or Ko in Korean.
Isabel Ibarra is a well-known painter in the Carmel area of CA. I didn't realize she has a Basque last name, but it makes me cherish the two paintings I have even more.
Very interesting
I apologize, her name is Gabriela Ibarra!
@@finnfan33 cool I'm an Ibarra . That's good to know
@@FORDST.FAMILIA looks like she's since moved to FL - I bought two amazing still lifes in 2000. do you have RH- blood type??
The Basque surnames in Puerto Rico: Aguirre, Albizu, Arizmendi, Arriaga, Arrieta, Arteaga, Echegaray, Echevarria, Elizondo, Gabilondo, Garay, Goicochea, Goitia, Ibarra, Igartua, Irizarry, Urrutia, Vazquez and many others.
Berrios!
you will find those surnames from Mexico to Argentina all the way in latinamerica
Garayúa 👋
Arguinzoniz de cayey
Egozcue. Very uncommon
Watching from Basque Country! This video showed up on my recomendations🤣and im subscribing! My name is Iñigo Jauregi, you almost got the correct pronunciation on my last name, but is very nice dont worry, i appreciate your great effort. Nice to see that people is so curious about basque people :)
Thanks for posting this video, my last name is Irizarry, so I’ve been researching it’s Basque origins. It seems close to #19 IRIGOIEN & #12 IRIART. Will be checking out your other videos.
De Uriarte is very rare on the East Coast where I am. I visited the Museum of Northern Nevada in Elko and saw that Basques had big influence on the great state of Nevada.
My families from the diaspora in Idaho, originally our last name was Barinagarrementeria, but was shortened to Barinaga when my Great Grandfather got to the US. My Grandpa (Aititia) spoke Bizkaian Basque dialect (I grew up calling my Grandma Amuma not Amona)
@@allopinionsstatedaremyown5056 yes, thats why I specified Bizkaian as a dialect of the Basque Language
My great grandpa came to Idaho as well. Barriatua. Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to grow up with him though.
Wow and I thought my last name was long. Mine is Bustamante. I'm Spanish with Basque ancestry.
@@allopinionsstatedaremyown5056 Euskera as a language is divided in different dialects and sub dialects. Bizkaian is one on them.
Some people call their grandparents atita/atitta and amama, some others call them as aitona and amona... I, personally, called my dad's parents aitona and amona, and call my mom's parents atitta and amama
My sister’s late husband was Asumendi and his family has connected with her. She has maintained his name. We were surprised to discover our DNA also includes a Basque heritage.
Most interesting, all this information of yours about the Basque Country. As a result of my friendship with a Basque lady whom I like, I encountered the Basque language, and, being a musician of many years of experience, I have now become a txistu player, and that's coming on nicely. Not many txistularis in Scotland! Great instrument, and somewhat different here.
I love Basque... Saludos desde Zamboanga, Las Islas Filipinas. Larracochea Larrakoetxea
Hey there, and greetings from Bilbao. In case you are interested, I'm leaving the translations of these surnames (wherever possible), for you folks to know what they mean.
Mendizabal: Wide (zabal) mountain (mendi).
Arriaga: Stone-place / Stoney place, or even quarry. "Harri" means stone, whilst "-aga" is a common toponymic derivation suffix meaning "place of".
Aranburu: End of the valley. "Haran" means valley, while "Buru" means head, though it is figuratively used to mean the top-end or highest final bit of things.
Garai: You'll find this as Garay as well, with the Frenchified spelling. Meaning "high" or "tall" as and adjective, or something close to "epoch" as a substantive.
Ibarra: Riverbank.
Irigoien: Also found as Irigoyen. "Hiri" means city or town (cognate with "Uri" or "Uli" and all stemming from the same root), and "goi" stands for the "upper" part of something, plus what seems to be a possessive declensional suffix. As a composite, it could be translated to something along the lines of "of the higher part of the town".
Etxebarne: Within (barne) home/house (etxe). Etxegibel is another version I've seen of this, at least here in Biscay. In the sense of the individual being born "within the house", that is, from legitimate marriage. This could be opposed to the term we use to say "bastard", which is "Sasikume" -literally "son of the bushes"-, which implies that mothers giving birth to illegitimate children had to do so in the wild way back in the day.
Etxegoien: Same logic as with Irigoien, something like "from the higher house" or "from the house on high" (as in a mountainside).
Etxegaray/Etxegarai: "High/tall house".
Arana: Valley.
Urrutia: From the far-side. "Urruti" is the adverb for "far", and this surname is a nominalization, possibly used to name a given Baserri or fortified manor that happened to be far away from the nearest town.
Zabala: Wide/broad/ample.
Iriarte: Probably "from between the towns". The most likely etymological explanation is that "-arte" could be a shortened form of "artean" meaning "in-between".
Arregi: Quarry. "Harri" meaning stone, plus "-egi/-tegi", another toponymical derivation suffix to indicate "place of".
Jauregi: Palace, literally "the lord's place". A derived term from "Jaun", or "lord", and the aforementioned "-egi" toponymic ending.
Otegi: Place of gorses/furzes.
Agirre: A bit obscure, possible related to "Agiria" or "Agirikoa", or "Notorious", in the sense of the family being of obvious noble stock.
Bergara: A town's name, located in Gipuzkoa.
Otxoa: Wolf.
Duhart: Almost certainly coming from the French Basque Country, could be a frenchified version of "Uharte", which is "island".
Goikoetxea: The house on high.
Goienetche: As above, only this version of the surname is more prevalent in the French Basque Country.
Etxeberria: New (berri) house (etxe).
Thank you for taking the time to share these translations!
@@robinsen8858 No problem, always glad to promote the language.
My grandparents, Justo and Sebestiana Uriarte were from Bilbao. Are people with the same last name typically related?
@@amandahenley7298 well, not necessarily. Just like with any other society, demographoc growth and movement has mixed families quite a lot. However, there might be some connection still, if they find someone with the same surname, though perhaps a generation or two back.
@@anderbarongonzalez3356 Is the last name Bedoya basque? one of my grandpa's last names was bedoya(he got it from his mom or my great grandmother).
Yeah! We made the list! Apparently it was Aguirre Ben Gao when my great grandfather migrated. But it was shortened when he got off the ship. Thanks, Ellis Island.
My Great-Grandpa was French and my Great-Great Grandma was Spanish. His name was Napoleon and her Cordelia. This lady doing the video pronounced these names very well.
Hi Anne, greetings from an Echevarría! I liked this video thank you for the number 1 😄
Hello Anne-Marie. That is a genuinely great and fascinating linguistic video. I actually saw another one by a linguist who posted about the historical aspects of Euskara's origin, which I am sure you know is unknown, except for a few common theories.
I am not at all of Basque origin, but rather an ex-teacher of trench, Spanish, and ESL, with a strong background in linguistics and years as a translator.
I'll look out for more of your videos since anything about languages is tops on my list.
I live in the Basque country oft northern Nevada (USA) and the Basque tradition runs deep here. We even have a National Basque Festival each year in Elko, Nevada rather than the traditional 4th of July like most American towns. Our phone book has a lot of names I didn't see in your video-which surprises me. Ongi Etorri!
I will like to know when that festival is, I'm living in Canada and if possible I will like to see that.
Please share those Basque names.
Grew up in Lovelock, Nv. My grandmother's name was Bilbao. Names i heard most were, Echeverria, Bengochia, Trevino, Olaeta.
My Ancestry DNA results didn't show any Basque. However, my Mexican American girlfriend's did. She has green eyes. And her Mexican born mother has blue eyes. Her family comes from Sonora and Sinaloa Mexico. The last names in their family are Acedo, Gastelum, Murrieta. And Amaya and Machado.
Most Basque that I know have dark eyes and dark hair. The green or blue eye color doesn't necessarily mean it comes from Basque dna, it could come from some other ethnicity.
My family took dna test. Came out basque. Green and blue eyes in our family. Hernandez
From Sonora , my family is Machado /Martinez , Arvizu !.
I’m 10 percent Basque. If it were 1 percent I wouldn’t even consider mentioning it here. This dna test flipped my world upside down. I’m intrigued by the culture. But i am mostly Spaniard and Portugués.
The color of eyes do not reflect a region in Spain.
Iturralde, 3 Basque Brothers come to Latin America in 1677. One to Mexico, one to South America and one to Cuba. My Family.
My great grandmother was Marguerite Etchegorri (Red House) from Gironce in France. I regret not knowing more about Basque culture.
Fascinating channel!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!
This was so helpful! There is a Zabala in my ancestry. Thank you for this info!
Hey! Didn’t expect my last name to pop up! Other than my family, I haven’t come across other Arriadas. However, I have seen Arriagas out there. Great video, Anne Marie!
I was happy to include Arriada/Arriaga on the list!
Great information. My family name is Urtiaga (Old Tree?) and I’ve seen several different spellings over the years; Urteaga, Arteaga, Arriaga, etc.
While conducting my own research, I discovered our name was also associated with a cave (Urtiaga Cave) in the Guipuzcoa area of Northern Spain where “modern human” remains (Basques?) were excavated by anthropologists “in situ” (in it’s original place) and in close proximity with Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon remains, possibly indicating the 3 human types may have “over lapped” or even co-existed in ancient and perhaps competitively engaged in control of natural resources in this region.
Since we, the Basques, are still here, one can assume the completion ended many thousands of years ago.
Spain apparently was not under a mile of glacier like northern Europe during the last ice age of 40 000 years ago. The Basque people may have stayed there while much of Europe was repopulated after the glaciers receded some 12 000 years ago. Neanderthals don't seem to have survived the ice age excepted for those who interbred with homo sapiens and live on in our genes.
Urteaga/Urtiaga = flooded place
Aboitiz and Ayala were the most famous businessman in the Philippines. Ibarra is the surname from a fictional main character of "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" Many Basque surname here in the Philippines and mostly common.
Even the main street of my neighborhood is Aguirre, comes from the Basque Itzaguirre 😄
Ayala here. Where can I contact my rich family?
When I research my last name Anaya I always find Basque origins. Anaya has its origins in Spain, and is derived from the ancient Basque language. Anaia was a Medieval Basque personal name meaning "friar or brother." As a surname it signifies "son of Anai," who was the father of the original bearer.
My name is Anai. Had a Basque great great great grandfather, born in 1780, Ortiz de Lanzagorta in Burgos, then I can't trace it back further from there. That being that my grandfather and mother's last name is also found in the Basque country. My mother always said that Lopez de Lerena found in Madrid area, and Basque country, and I think that their family title is held by a Basque. My grandmother's family title held by Aragonese. It's whatever they were able to find out about my mother's ancestors and somewhat piece it all together.
There's even a Basque version of Barangan, which I think also exist Irish, Barragan.. I used to always be called Barragan in Spain, when saw my stepfather's name.
My father was Basque, my last name is Parras. His parents immigrated around 1900 I think!
I lived in Santiago de Compostela for a short time many years ago. Even though it is in Galicia and not País Vasco I still saw a lot of words that looked like they were Euskera. I learned very little gallego (similar to Portuguese) but the words didn't seem to fit that pattern and it definitely wasn't Spanish.
Do you remember any example you could give? I could tell if such a word or a similar one exists in Portugal, or if it also sounds Basque to me.
For example, the Portuguese word "zaragatoa" (meaning "swab", like for covid tests) has a certain Basque feeling, but it actually comes from Arabic "zarqatuna" via Castilian "zaragatona".
I really enjoyed this video. I knew a man once that had Basque ancestry. His last name was Azcona. Anyway he was extremely proud of his Basque heritage. Several surnames that you mentioned I've heard of but didn't know they are Basque. Thank you for creating this video. 🙋🏻♀️
My last name is Garay. I definitely have basque dna along with Spanish and Mexico. Other small percentages.
Thanks for sharing. Glad i found your channel. I’m glad I can share some information with my family.
There are a lot of Basque families in the Philippines. Larrazabal, Yrastorza, Ayala, Vidaurrazaga, Ynchausti, Ugarte, Artadi, Araneta, Aboitiz, Zubiri, Yrezabal, and more
Yes! Also Arnaiz, the basketball player. One of my classmates is an Ynchausti. Probably why jai alai was a big thing in Manila back in the day. 🙂
That seems historical logical. The Philippines was the main destination for the Spanish ships that left port of San Blas, New Spain. A good number of Spanish sailors and ship builders were Basque.
I have a family member who met a man from the Philippines and this man had the same surname and insisted that our Basque name was Filipino. Quite funny!😂
These Basques reached not only the Americas but also Asia- Here in The Philippines, I had a Great Grandfather named "Jorge Arrieta" I tried looking up the meaning of the surname "Arrieta" and it says "Arri meaning stone and eta as a suffix for place or group"
We don't really know why he came here but my Mother and I assume he was a colonizer :>
yes this is likely. Although I'd think missionary or explorer rather than colonizer, it depends on the way you look at it of course. A lot of Basques took jobs as navigators because they were excellent seafarers as well as boat builders, Basque sailors built and manned Christopher Colombus's fleet, and one Basque sailor, Juan Elcano, finished Magellan's attempt to circumnavigate the world. Maybe one of those guys got stranded in the Phillippines and there you go haha.
@@venusibarra325
Come on pal...the Spanish (with the Basques of course) colonised the Philippines for 350 years.. The country is named after King Philippe of Spain.
In the Philippines you find thousands of Spanish surnames, and many Basque names also... The current president is a Marcos, former president is an Aquino. All inherited from the colonizers, it had a brutal history.
A friend of mine comes from Lucena City, the Island of Luzon by the name of Ed Zuniga
How absolutely wonderful. Thank you. Love to hear more about the basque.
I saved this video because my husband's grandmother was French Basque and when I came across #19 he recognized Irigoien but with a Yrigoien (something like that). So exciting to see it on the list! Would love to go there some day.
Kaixo, Anne Marie! Great video! I had no idea Aguirre and Duarte were Basque names! Along with Uchoa, they are very common here in Brazil where I live! Mine is not very common, I've never met an Etxetxipia/Echechipia who was not part of my family. Anyway, awesome video! Gonna tell all my Duarte and Aguirre friends they are one of us lol
Aguirre could be a short for bigger names like Aguirresarobe, Aguirrezabalaga etc
Echechipia sounds very similar to Ecthiniquia, which is the last name of my children, except it as changed to Chiniquy to sounds more French when their forefather left for France.
There is a famous movie, called Aguirre, the Wrath of God, by The Austrian film maker Werner Herzog.
Another good video, here a Basque Teacher and tour guide of the whole Basque Country who follows you. As I can read in the comments, many of your followers as well are from the Basque Country, so you don't have only diaspora ones.
If you have any doubt about Basque toponymy and anthroponymy, just let me know, it's one of my specialties. I know that you really love the Basque culture and that you really enjoy sharing it with the rest of the world, actually is something we both have in common, so I really want to express thanks to you for giving some visibility to our ancient, tiny and fascinating culture and land. Eskerrik asko, bihotzez. Greetings from Barakaldo (Bizkaia)
Thanks for your comment, glad you found the channel!
Good day, sorry to bother. My last name is Ugartechea, I have been curious as to what part of the Basque country it belongs and how common it is? We do know my ancestors had 10 children when they came to America and now they're all scattered, and we lost some links. On this side of the world, we do know that if we have the last name, we are related as we are the 5th gereration. I would really appreciate any knowledge
@@janierugza5342 well, Ugarte/uharte literally means surrounded by water, island. Etxea=house, so Ugartetxea would mean house of the island, or house surrounded by water, I cannot tell you where it comes from exactly in the Basque Country, I find it I will let you know ;)
@@hodeiertz2155 Hi Hodeiertz, I am also from Barakaldo but living in Ireland. Ugarte is a very topographical name so, I don´t think it is related to a specific area of the Basque Country in particular. You can find many places called Ugarte in Bizkaia, Araba, Gipuzkoa and Navarra (here most commontly spelled as Huarte or Uharte). It is a very common name in the whole Basque Country. We have one Ugarte very close to Barakaldo as well.
@@ferbilbao6075 hi Fer. Who said the opposite?? I just said what Ugarte means. I did not say that is a name that you can find in just an specific location of the Basque Country. I know Ugarte/Uharte/Huarte everywhere in the Basque Country. I think you misunderstood my message. Anyways the person who asked, she was asking about the surname Ugartetxea, what it is not that common to me, I know lots of people with the family name Ugarte but not Ugartetxea. And also you should know you are mixing two things in one hand toponimia (name of a place) and in the other, antroponimia (names of people). Most of the basque surnames have an origin, as that name was given by the Baserri where that family came from.
Hi from Basque country ;) Your prononciation is nearly perfect, and it's quite fascinating to hear american people so accurate and precise about our little community so far away from you.
Thank you for this video ! I do not have a single Basque blood in me but I really loved the French part of the Basque Country and as someone who loves languages, I have decided to start the Basque language slowly but surely. I really loved Bayonne and I cannot wait to go back there ! I also want to work on my Spanish and go to Bilbao.
I have two cousins whose maternal grandparents fled Spanish Basque Country for Cuba so they could get married. Their mother’s surname was Mendia. Also, my son and his wife are adopting her sister’s baby. Baby’s birth surname was Zatarain which I understand is of Spanish Basque origin though sometimes thought to be Creole.
Mendia means "mountain"
Zatarain/Zuturain In Basque means "On top of the vantage-point"
There is a specialty rice company with Cajin flair called Zatarain's in the US. Supposedly from Lousianna.
I have been told that my last name, 'Uribe', is also common in Basque country throughout, meaning ' lower village'. I'd like to think that a 'Goikoetxea' and a 'Uribe' could be friends even if they couldn't see eye to eye ;)
I have friends who are Uribe. They understand it to be of Basque origin
im basque and i can confirm that, Uribe its a very common last name :D my name is Mikel, basque adaptation from Miguel or Mike in english and Legarra my second name, so fun to look at these videos and comments
Uribe is a Basque name and a historical subdivision of the province of Bizkaia (Merindad de Uribe) which included most part of what today is known as Greater Bilbao.
I noticed a lot of basque last name have the letter “U” like mine Ugalde.
@@Purhazee Ur means Water and many names are formed around that word. Ugalde comes from Ur (water) + Alde (beside, close to), Ur+alde===> Ugalde
Both of my grandmothers gave Basque surnames. My paternal grandmother's last name is Huizar and my maternal grandmother's last name is Peñuñuri. I also have the surname Ochoa on part my father's side and the surname Berryessa on part of my mother's side, which was originally spelled Berrelleza.
My last name is Velasco.
Velasco (also Belasco or Belasko) is a Spanish family name and masculine first name derived from the Basque Vela- meaning 'raven' or 'crow' and the diminutive suffix -sco. The name also made its way into Portuguese language as Vasco.
Raven is actually "Bele". It might be because of changes in the language but that's how it's spelled.
I am not sure about this... the suffix -sco surely does not exist, in any case it would be -sko as you first suggested.
-azko, is a current suffix denoting "made from" "made of", -ko it is also another suffix meaning "from".
Belaz not sure what could it mean but it could be a place, so Belaz-ko could mean from Belaz, or it could also mean Bela-zko made of Bela, which again I am not sure of what it could be.
All this I am saying without any ounce of research, only using my language as is right now, so it could be a very old word oooorrr just another dialect as I am from northern Gipuzkoa, so...
My family’s original last name is Vela & my grandfather had told me when I was a kid we were Vascos.
My last name is Velasco also
Many of these names are very common in Mexico, I'm familiar with many of them, and with some of them I was aware they were Basque. There must have been a lot of Basques who came to Mexico. Btw my best friend's mom's family was Olea, which is also Basque.
So true....I have on sides of my family tree Basque...
Yes. Mexico was once tribal and many Spanish and European colonized it circa 1500 CE. It makes sense there are many in Mexico when you look at Mexico's history.
Almost all of Mexico's indigenous (Native American) population were given Spanish (Castillian), Catalan and Basque names of their conquerors. There are very few Native American surnames left in Mexico. This has happened to Native Americans and African Americans in the U.S. who were given English names primarily.
@@onyxcasa5075 Yes, very true. Some people in Mexico have native first names like Xochitl or Citlalli, but not too many native surnames. In U.S., most if not all African-Americans have English surnames, as do many Native Americans. However, there are also many Native Americans who have native last names, or English translations of native names.
Indeed. The oppressed were often more likely to immigrate to the new world.
Duarte and Ibarra are names I've heard of. I had no idea they were Basque. Very interesting.
Duarte is a town in southern California. Beginning in the late 19th century, Basque immigrants worked as sheepherders in the east San Gabriel Valley and all over several western states.
I knew a family with the name Ybarra...
My Basque family name is Goicouria (most likely it was originally Goikouria) and I believe it means “Of a high place, waterfall or something like that” there is also a city named San Pedro de Goicouria which is a very common first name in my family. I am 7% Basque and so very proud of my Basque roots 🥰
My maiden name (my father’s last name) is Goycoolea! There’s so many variations of the surname! Goicouria sounds like one of them. ☺️
@@meredith8605 Unfortunately with many of our surnames in other languages wrote them "wrong" or using their spelling. Of course in basque there is no y, strictly speaking, and double vowels do not exist either, double consonants do however, not very common, but names like Maddi or Antton do have geminated consonants to represent a diferent sound.
I would say it probably menas means Goiko -i Iria ( Iria is translated as city / settlement).. Iria/ uria is a common declination
So many of these names are common in the Philippines too, but as you said in the beginning that having a Basque surname does not denote Basque ancestry, this is very true in my country. Most Filipinos were required by Spain to pick Spanish surnames, many of which came from different parts of Spain such as Catalonia and of course, the Basque Country. Examples include Ochoa, Echegaray, as well as other Basque surnames you didn't mention, like Larrazabal and Esquivel.
The commonest surnames from my neck of the woods:
Iriart, Laxalt, Etcheverry, Mendigurry, Etchegoyen, Etchemendy, Aguerre, Urruty.
_Ser guap0 en Euskadi es delito_
Iriarte from Guam
I learned about the Basque region and culture through the sport of jai-alai. Every one of these names was the name of a professional jai-alai player in the USA at some point. And Goikoetxea is the name of the #1 player in the world right now. The programs at the US frontons only have space for 10 letters per name. So over the years many names were shortened to the “American” version, to fit in the program. A player named Arecha may really have a last name like Arechabaruleta or something close to that.
As someone whose last name never fit on the standardized testing forms of the American school system, I can relate to this! Very cool to know that many of these names belong to jai alai players. I don't follow the sport at all, so I find this information interesting. Thanks for sharing!
ARETXABALETA meaning ARETX or ARITZ (Oak tree) + ZABAL (wide, ample, loose) + ETA (suffix that indicates a big quantity of something) Aretxabaleta = Place with lots of large oak trees
@@JeanEtchepare Aretxa is Aritza in Biscayan dialect, as well as (H)aitz gives Atx, haitzuri-atxuri, Haritzaga-Aretxaga and dozens of examples where you can see the same dialectical difference...but if you are happier putting there letters that don't exist haha as RR when there is only one R, feel free to believe what you prefer haha
I went to a game once in Rhode Island. I didn't realize there was a Basque connection. I presume there is a large diaspora community there now? Best I could tell the sport is supported by gambling operations giving the players a home for their huge court and a jobs for all the support staff. Not many people were there to watch the game.
Glad I found your channel, ready to visit Basque Country and my ancestry! Ostolaza last name:)
I'm from Zabala by grandmother of Leketio! Changed to Sabala on arrival in USA. My grandmother's full Basque name was, (deep breath...) Jesusa Emeteria de Zabala Uribarren!
Cool vídeo. I don't know what spelling variations the word might have suffered, but we spell it "Aguirre" ( in Spanish, that "u" after the "g" is silent, so you did get the pronunciation right!)
I am so very grateful for your Channel. Finally there is a group I can relate to.
My mother´s maiden name was Lucia Mercedes Goikoetxea before she married. She was taken from San Sebastian in 1932 at the age of 5 with her sister Mirencho. Why she was send to Germany is not known. The house she was born in is still standing. But I believe it had something to do with the Franco time.
She has not much memory of her family and resented them for sending her away. This made me always so sad as I had no reference of my mentality, personality or if I still have family in the Basque country. I have never been to the Basque Land even though I am in Europe. I have struggled all my life being different from the Germans around whom I grew up. I look very Basque and was teased for it during my childhood. I have very Basque qualities from my research, I am extremely stubborn, the Germ. say, I have a strong feel for independence, don´t like to change my mind or be pressured by public opinion. This had a strong impact on the development of my life. I do have a great sense of survival and resilience ( in the psychological sense). I still hope to find family in the Basque land and doing ongoing research.
So smart to research first. You could waste much time and money just going and not having much information to work from. Good luck & God Speed!
In the Basque Country when they started the use of surnames they just did it based on where you came from or where you live so most of them are to do with a geographical location, like mountains or types of trees etc.
My mother's mother was from the Basque village of Elantxobie and her name was Anastasia (maiden name was Arriandiaga) Aldecoa. Mom's father, also from the Basque country from the small village of Ea. This is a wonderful video but one thing that surprised me and I want to correct is all the last names with the letter 'C" in it are wrong. The Basque alphabet has only 25 letters in it----- they do not have the letter C and to get the sound of the word 'C' the letters 'tx' are used---- sometimes 'k' is used such as my mother's name Carmen is spelled Karmen. In Basque the word for grandfather is Aichecha (American spelling) but is actually Aitxetxa is the correct Basque spelling. One final thing is that the largest majority of Basque last names end in one of the vowels---- there are exceptions but those are not the original Basque spelling and have been Americanized.
PS: I forgot to say my grandfather's name which was Marcelino Aldecoa
A literal sound-out: one of the most promising composers to have ever lived was Juan Crisostomo Arriaga (1806-1826), He is one of the most mature composers ever at age 18. Regrettably he died at age 19, so we will never know.. .
Anne-Marie here are some surnames I have in my family tree from Pasaia Donibane.
Echeverria (we might be related then LOL)
Arzueta
Larburu
Nalbarte
Noblecia
Sastre
Pui
Villareal
Olarria
Girau (Jirau or Giraud)
(All the above names were pulled from church documents or indexed records from Donibane.)
I have always wondered about my last name.
My mother’s maiden name. “Munarriz” which is a name of a town in the Basque county.
Very informative, thank you
My last name is Orozco-García
Garcia is medieval basque & Orozco is Orozko; a village in the southern of part of Basque Country
My last name is the French Canadian version of etcheverry from les îles de la madeleine Quebec and I’m proud of it.
My husband’s last name is Etchebarren. His grandparents were Basque. His grandfather was Pierre Etchebarren and his Grandma’s maiden name was Conde and she was from the Spanish side of the Basque Country.
Hi Isabelle! I am from the Basque Country, and my surname is Etxabarren, another variation of your husband's surname. You can write me and try to do some research.
Ive been to the Basque areas of Spain and France. the street festival in February 2023 in San Sebastián was so damn awesome. I love this place and people !
My last name also has 2 spellings Cortazar/Kortazar. My father and family are from Bizkaia. My grandmother was Isasi.
kaixo Ann Marie. We are some English students from the Basque Country. We are writing to you because we want to help you with your Euskera through videos. Could you help us with our English too?
Yes absolutely! You can email me at annemarie@hellabasque.org to tell me more about your proposal.
This is so interesting and very enjoyable. Thank you. The Basque people are fascinating.
When you went over the last name Otxoa, i was surprised you didn't mention the Ochoa spelling. Its fairly common in the Mexico and the Mexican diaspora here in the US. I've met Ochoas from other countries in Latina America as far south as Peru.