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Salazar (surname)

Salazar is a surname meaning old farmhouse (from Basque Sarasaitzu [old], which then evolved to "Sarasaz," and then to the modern, Castillian form "Salazar"). The name originates from the valley of the same name: Salazar Valley, in Navarra, Spain. The surname started appearing during the Early Middle Ages.

Its origins are also related to a certain noble family around the 10th century, the Salazars, that held a fief in the area. 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 the Americas, thus spreading the surname through Spanish America; others intermarried many noble families, and the surname spread all through the Iberian Peninsula.

Salazar is a common surname in Hispanic America because there were a number of Salazars among the early Spanish conquerors and settlers.

Salazar is also a common surname among Roma people. 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. 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.

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References

Bibliography

  • Euskal Abizenak, vol 3, pp 100–102. Lizardi Multimedia, Zarauz, Spain.
  • RAMOS MERINO, Juan Luis. "La caballería y la leyenda artúrica en Lope García de Salazar". En: Junto al Grial : miscelánea artúrica. Soria : Diputación Provincial, 2008, pp. 89–103.