Catalan surnames are family names originating in the region of Catalonia, located in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula, and/or in the Catalan language. Like many other cultures in the region, Catalans typically take two surnames, one from their paternal side and one from the maternal side.
History of Catalan surnames
Catalonia was first united as a region under the Count of Barcelona. In the 12th century, the neighboring Kingdom of Aragon unified dynastically with the County, and ruled of Aragonese territory for the following 7 centuries. However, it maintained a political structure, culture, and language distinct from those of Aragon, and became known as Catalonia. In the eighteenth century it was conquered by Castile, and has been under Spanish rule since. Nonetheless, the Catalans have nonetheless maintained their unique culture, language, and identity to this day.[1]
As with many other cultures in Europe, Catalans began adopting surnames during the Middle Ages, and by the 13th century, most Catalans had surnames.[2] Also as was typical in many other cultures, the surnames were generally derived from patronyms, local geography, occupations, and character traits.
Under Franco's dictatorship, the use of Catalan names, both given and surnames, was banned and Catalans were forced to use Castilian equivalents. Surnames originating in other languages, however, were allowed to remain in use, so some surnames that are used both in Catalonia and in other regions were still used under the Franco regime. Many Catalans reverted back to their original names once the ban was lifted following the transition to democracy; however, since the dictatorship lasted almost 40 years, some of the original surnames were forgotten.[3] Institutions such as La Societat d’Onomàstica and L’Institut d’Estudis Catalans were founded to help Catalans research and restore their original Catalan surnames.
Catalan naming conventions
Catalans inherit one surname from each of their parents, and remain with the same surnames for the rest of their lives, including married women. The two surnames may be listed one after the other, or separated by "i" (Catalan for "and") or "de" (meaning "of"). Historically, only the paternal surnames of the parents were inherited, so for example, Josep Caballé i Puig and Marta Pons i Bassolls might have a child named Albert Caballé i Pons. The paternal surname was generally listed first and the maternal second. However, in modern times, a maternal surname may appear first.
Popular Catalan surnames and their meanings
According to a survey conducted by the Statistics Institute of Catalonia in 2021[4], the top surnames in modern-day Catalonia and other areas where Catalan is spoken are actually mostly of Spanish origin, and the list is very similar to that of top Spanish surnames. These names are Catalan in that they are used in Catalonia and other Catalan-speaking areas, but not in terms of their linguistic roots. Little data is available about the popularity of surnames originating in the Catalan language. Some common Catalan surnames include:
Geographic locations for Catalan surnames
Catalan surnames are most commonly found in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, as well as the neighboring communities of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, and some areas in nearby countries, such as France and Andorra, that were historically part of the Kingdom of Aragon and where Catalan is still commonly spoken. As of 2016, more than 10 million people worldwide spoke Catalan and around 13 million understood it.[5]
Celebrities with Catalan surnames
- Salvador Dalí i Domènech, artist
- Antoni Placito Guillem Gaudí i Cornet, architect
- Josep "Pep" Guardiola, football manager and former player
- María de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé Folch, opera singer
Ethnicities of top Catalan surnames
Since Catalan surnames originate on the Iberian peninsula, people with Catalan surnames are likely to be of Iberian origin. They are also likely to be of , Italian, or North and West European origin. See also: Catalan ethnicity
See also
Explore more about Catalan surnames
- Last names on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Spain on MyHeritage
References
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/place/Catalonia
- ↑ Solé-Morata Neus et al (March 2015), Y-chromosome diversity in Catalan surname samples: insights into surname origin and frequency, National Library of Medicine.
- ↑ Arbós, Santi. La normalizació dels cognoms catalans. La Societat Catalana de Genealogia
- ↑ https://www.idescat.cat/indicadors/?id=aec&n=15924
- ↑ El País (May 3, 2016) Més de 10 milions de persones parlen català i 13 l’entenen