Basque Personal Names

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 * Behind the Name: Basque Surnames
 * Behind the Name: Basque Given Names

Surnames

 * Basque surnames are surnames with Basque-language origins or a long, identifiable tradition in the Basque Country (which comprises the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country and Navarre in Spain and the Northern Basque Country in France).
 * Basque surnames can be divided into two main types, patronymic and non-patronymic.
 * Patronymics are by far the most common surnames in the whole of the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre. The patronymics are derived from the father through the suffix -ez, -oz, -iz or -az which means 'of'.
 * The Basque language also expresses family links with the genitive suffix -(r)ena, e.g. Perurena, Arozena, etc., meaning 'belonging to'.
 * The non-patronymic surnames are often toponymic (geographical) ones that refer to the family's "etxea", the historically all important family home. When a farm (baserri) was rented to another family, often the new tenants were known locally by the farm name rather than by their officially registered surname. The majority of modern Basque non patronymic surnames fall into two categories:
 * a descriptive of the family house. This usually either refers to the relative location of the home or the purpose of the building.
 * the first owner of the house. Usually this is a man's name. These surnames are relatively recent


 * Medieval Basque names follow a descriptive naming pattern about the person, pointing to physical features, family relations, or geographical origin.
 * As is the legal convention in Spain, Basques in the South have double legal surnames, the first being that of the father and the second that of the mother. In the North, Basques legally have only one surname' as is the convention in France.