Spain Naming Customs: Difference between revisions

Spain Naming Customs (view source)

Revision as of 16:42, 20 February 2021

1,313 bytes added , 20 February 2021

m

→‎Surnames Historical Development

VisualWikitext

Hanna5974

318,531

edits

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ===Surnames Historical Development===
+*Before record keeping began, most people had '''only one name''', such as Juan. Until the tenth century, common people did not use a surname.
+*As the population increased, however, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. Additionally, the Council of Trent (1545–1563) made it mandatory to keep parish records that would list names of the child, parents, and godparents, which required distinguishing relationships between family members. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information.
+*In Spain, the name system was well established by the 1100s, and the naming customs of Spain became the basis for other Spanish-speaking countries. The four influences that played a part in the development of Spanish surnames were '''patronymical terms, occupational terms, descriptive or nickname terms, and geographical terms (estates, manors, or dominions)'''. Examples of these influences are:
+**'''Patronymic names (based on a parent’s name, usually the father’s name)''' such as Juan Martinez (Juan, son of Martín) or Juan Domínguez (Juan, son of Domingo)
+**'''Occupational names (based on the person’s trade)''' such as José Herrera (José the Blacksmith) or Juan El Molinero (Juan the Miller)
+**'''Descriptive names or nicknames (based on a unique quality of the person)''' such as Domingo Calvo (Domingo the Bald-Headed) or Juan El Moreno (Juan the Dark)
+*'''Geographic or toponymic names (based on a person’s residence)''' such as Domingo del Río (Domingo from near a river) or Juan de Córdova (Juan from the city of Córdoba)
+*At first, surnames applied only to one person and not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names became '''hereditary and were used from father to son'''.
+*Surnames were first used by the '''nobility and wealthy landowners'''. Later the custom was followed by '''merchants and townspeople and eventually by the rural population'''. This process took two or three centuries.
+*It is not possible to determine the exact year or even the century when a particular family name was taken. By the end of the thirteenth century, many families determined to retain the patronymic name without continuing to change the name from generation to generation.
+*In 1568, Phillip II decreed that the '''Moors should abandon their names and adopt Spanish names'''. Thus, some Moorish names such as Ben-egas became Venegas.
-*Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as John.
-*As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. John became John the smith, John the son of Matthew, John the short, or John from Heidelberg.
-*At first surnames applied only to one person, not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names became hereditary and were passed on from generation to generation.
-*Surnames developed from several sources. For example:
-**'''Occupational''' (based on a person’s trade, such as Carter or Smith)
-**'''Geographical''' (based on a person’s residence, such as Drayton or Debenham)
-**'''Patronymic''' (based on a person’s father’s name, such as Jones, son of John)
-**'''Descriptive''' or '''nickname''' (such as Joy or Child)
-*The '''nobility and wealthy land owners''' were the first to begin using surnames.
-*'''Merchants and townspeople''' then adopted the custom, as did the '''rural population'''. This process took two or three centuries.
 ===Surname "Changes" of Immigrants in the United States===
 '''As Immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways.'''