Basque surnames
The patronymics such as Aluariz (probably Alvariz, child of Alvar, as in the past 'u' and 'v' were indistinguishable in writing), Obecoz or Garcez are amongst the most ancient, going as far back as the 10th century.
They also referred to the occupation of the head of the family such as Olaberria ("the new forge") or Salaberria (new farm/farmer) or could describe where their home was such as Elizondo ("by the church").
The earliest documented Basque surnames occur on Aquitanian inscriptions from the time of the Roman conquest of Hispania and Gallia Aquitania.
For the most part these can be easily identified with modern or medieval Basque surnames, for example ENNECONIS (the personal name Eneko plus the Latin genitive ending -IS, stem augmented by -N) > Enekoitz.
V(alerius) BELTESONIS (probable coinage from beltz 'black', less likely linked to bele/bela 'crow') engraved on the stella of Andriarriaga located in Oiartzun bears witness to a mixture of Roman and Vasconic tradition in the local aristocracy during the Antiquity.
[4]: 20 Otxoa ("wolf") was a Basque version of the Romance name Lope, or the other way round, with an early medieval prevalence all around the Pyrenees and west into the Cantabrian Mountains.
Marital alliances between the Christian kingdoms of Leon and Navarre were typical in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries in order to protect themselves from the southern Islamic attacks.
Proof is the fact that King Alfonso V of León was mainly of Basque-Navarrese origin, through his mother, Elvira García, and his paternal grandmother, the aforementioned Urraca Fernández.
As a result of the Reconquista, the Douro basin was repopulated, most probably by people mainly coming from Navarre, Biscay, Cantabria or Alava, who used the suffix -ez.
It is logical to assume that the royal families from Leon, Navarre, Aragón and the aristocracy of Biscay, Alava or La Rioja would have had larger numbers of offspring than the regular population given their greater financial means and longer life expectancy.
[1] During the medieval period Basque names were written broadly following the spelling conventions of the official languages of the day, usually Spanish and French.
This style was adopted for a while by a number of his fellow Basque Nationalist Party (PNV/EAJ) supporters but has largely fallen out of fashion now.
Basque non patronymic surnames are relatively easy to spot through the high frequency of certain elements and endings used in their formation, bearing in mind the spelling variants.
