Andorran Surnames

Main contributor: Gerard Serra

Andorran surnames are carried by people from Andorra, a microstate in the eastern Pyrenees between Spain and France. Despite having a small population, its naming customs are influenced by Occitan, Spanish, and French due to migration and geography, reflecting Catalan origin. The majority of Andorran surnames are Catalan in origin, but some also come from unique Pyrenean characteristics, medieval occupations, and local toponyms. Andorran surnames are known for having a long history of using house names, or cognoms de casa, jointly with patronymics in order to identify families and estates, particularly in rural parishes.

History of Andorran surnamesHistory of Andorran surnames

Many Andorran surnames are derived from geographical elements, personal traits, or occupations, and their history is intricately entwined with Catalan, Occitan and Basque linguistic and cultural influences. Like much of Europe, Andorra gradually adopted permanent surnames as a result of census and legal obligations; the principality's surnames were influenced by Spanish and Catalan naming customs. Surnames in Andorra have been hereditary since the 14th century, a practice that started in the XI century in the form of patronymics.

Andorran surnames naming conventionsAndorran surnames naming conventions

According to Andorran customs, which have their origins in Catalan traditions, people usually have two surnames: their mother's surname and their father's surname, usually joined by the conjunction "i". This is comparable to Spanish and other Spanish-American nations. The custom of acquiring two surnames from Catalan culture is more common than a single "Andorran" surname tradition. The "cognoms de casa" (family or home names), such as Rossell for Casa Rossell or Busquets for Casa de la Vall, are an intriguing feature of Catalan and especially Andorran surnames. Important "casas," or homes, that had historical and political significance were owned by a number of wealthy and influential families in Andorra, including the Rossells and the Busquets. They are frequently followed by the word "de" ("de la Rita") or by the phrase "de cal" or "de ca la" ("de ca la Pia") and typically originate from a given name, nickname, hypocoristic, or now-extinct surname of a family member. These cognoms de casa were used to distinguish lineages that might otherwise share the same surname.

Some families were known more by house names than by their hereditary surnames, a tradition especially strong in rural Andorra; some of these notorious house names are:

Casa Rossell – one of the most powerful noble families in Ordino
Casa Molines – tied to a family estate, still a surname in Andorra
Casa Areny – associated with the Areny-Plandolit family, aristocracy
Casa Viladomat – often linked to landowning lineages

Types of Andorran surnamesTypes of Andorran surnames

Andorran surnames of patronymic originAndorran surnames of patronymic origin

These Andorran surnames are among the oldest ones, and are are often formed from male first names and passed on as hereditary surnames:

Joan – from John, often combined with house names
Pere – from Peter
Martí – from Martinus, a Latin-Christian name
Esteve – from Stephen
Ramon – popular medieval male name
Arnau – a Catalan variant of Arnold, common in mountain regions
Bertran – of medieval Occitan origin

Andorran surnames of toponymic originAndorran surnames of toponymic origin

Many Andorran surnames are derived from specific villages, farms, or geographic landmarks:

Andorrà – literally “from Andorra”
Solanelles – from a locality in Canillo parish
Escalé / Escaléz – from Escaldes, one of Andorra’s major towns
Ordinyà / Ordinyac – from Ordino
Encamp – a parish in central Andorra
Ribó – “stream bank,” used as a geographic or habitational surname
Serra – “ridge” or “mountain range”
Font – “spring” or “fountain”
Pujol – "small hill"

Andorran surnames of occupational originAndorran surnames of occupational origin

While less common, some Andorran surnames reflect trades or roles from the medieval and early modern periods:

Ferrer – “blacksmith”
Teixidó – “weaver” (from teixir)
Pastor – “shepherd”
Pagès – “peasant” or “farmer”
Batlle – “magistrate” or “bailiff”
Sabater – “shoemaker”
Llibre – "merchant"^[1]^[2]
Serradell – "locksmith"
Fuster – "carpenter"

Andorran surnames of descriptive originAndorran surnames of descriptive origin

Surnames based on personal traits, physical characteristics, or family nicknames:

Roig – “red,” likely referring to hair or complexion
Blanc – “white”
Petit – “small,” descriptive of stature
Grané – “great” or “big”
Bordes – “mountain hut” or “shelter,” may indicate remote origin
Moles – “soft” or “gentle”

Andorran surnames of aristocratic originAndorran surnames of aristocratic origin

Although Andorra has no titled nobility of its own, some families had regional prominence since the signing of the first charter or Paréage of Andorra in 1278:^[3]

Areny-Plandolit – most historically significant noble house in Andorra; instrumental in 19th-century politics
Rossell – elite family name tied to Ordino’s estate and early co-princeship affairs
Molines – a family involved in legal and civic leadership for centuries

Most common Andorran surnamesMost common Andorran surnames

Celebrities with Andorran surnamesCelebrities with Andorran surnames

Joan Verdú - Andorran alpine skier, winner of a bronze medal at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games
Marta Roure - Andorran singer who represented Andorra in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Xavier Espot Zamora - Andorran politician, current Prime Minister
Merche Romero - Portugese TV presenter of Andorran descent
Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva - Andorran tennis player, winner of the Australian Open girls' singles title in 2020

Explore more about Andorran surnamesExplore more about Andorran surnames

Discover the origin of your last name at MyHeritage
Vital records from Andorra at MyHeritage

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Les famílies andorranes. El Periòdic d'Andorra
↑ Cognoms de Andorra
↑ Fernsworth, Lawrence A. (1934). Andorra: The Passing of Europe's Last Feudal State. Foreign Affairs. 12 (2): 335–338. doi:10.2307/20030590. ISSN 0015-7120.

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Les famílies andorranes. El Periòdic d'Andorra

[2] Cognoms de Andorra

[3] Fernsworth, Lawrence A. (1934). Andorra: The Passing of Europe's Last Feudal State. Foreign Affairs. 12 (2): 335–338. doi:10.2307/20030590. ISSN 0015-7120.

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