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Alcalá
is a Spanish word derived from the Moorish al Qa’lah, which means palace or castle.
The Moors occupied Spain for about 700 years before finally being driven out in 1492. Among their many achievements were many
buildings of Moorish architecture and towns that included the phrase al Qa’lah in their name to signify the presence
of a palace or castle in that town. After the Spanish reconquest, these towns kept their Moorish names but the spelling was
changed to the Spanish alcalá. It is my belief that the Alcalá family originated from one or more of these towns in
Spain that have Alcalá as part of their name.
The town of Alcalá del Obispo, in the Council of Huesca in Aragon, is a likely possibility for the source of the Alcalá
surname. This is the location of one of the ancient ancestral homes of the Alcalás , and is where historical records make
one of the earliest mentions of an Alcalá, a knight by the name of Galin Jimenez de Alcalá, in the year 1137. There are several
other subsequent mentions in the historical records of other prominent men with the surname Alcalá. Among these were two knights,
Odon de Alcalá and Pedro de Alcalá, in the year 1160.
Other towns with the name of Alcalá include Alcalá de la Selva in the province of Aragon, Alcalá de Guadaira, Alcalá la
Real and Alcalá de los Gazules in Andalusia, and perhaps the most famous of all, Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. In Madrid itself
is the famous monument Puerta de Alcalá in the Plaza de la Independencia on the Calle Alcalá; it was a former gateway to the
city on the road from Aragon.
Arellano
Means: Sieve Origin: Navarre
This name started when Sancho
Ramirez (brother of King Don Garcia Ramirez) married Dona Elvira Gomez (daughter of the Count Gomez Gonzalez Salvadores).
Their son Sancho Sanchez administered the town of Arellano and founded the house of Arellano. First mentioned about 1693.
Much later this line spread to Castilla and then to Mexico.
AGUILAR
Definition: One who came from Aguilas in Spain, a city near Córdoba;
same origin as Aguiar, both from a Mozarabic knight of Toledo.
Surname Origin: Spanish
Alternate Surname Spellings: AGUILERA, AGUILER
Alexander
Definition: Helper of mankind, defender of men. Of Greek origin, but
most commonly found in Scotland. MACALLISTER is a common derivation.
Surname Origin: Greek, Scottish, English
Alternate Surname Spellings: ALEXANDRE, ALESANDER, ALESANDRE, ALAXANDAIR, ALASDAIR, ALEXANDAR
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Gomez
Definition: Derived from the given name, Gome, meaning "man."
Surname Origin: Spanish
Alternate Surname Spellings: GOMES, GOMETZ
Hernandez
Definition: "Son of Hernando," or "Son of Fernando," the Spanish form
of the Old German name Ferdinand, meaning "bold voyager."
Surname Origin: Spanish
Alternate Surname Spellings: HERNANDES
LEE
Definition: 1) The surname LEA, including the common alternate spelling
LEE,was originally given to a person who lived in or near a "laye," Middle English meaning 'clearing in the woods.' 2) Possibly
a modern form of the ancient Irish name "O'Liathain.". 3) LEE means "plum tree" in Chinese.
Surname Origin: English, Irish, Chinese
Alternate Surname Spellings: LEA, LEIGH
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Romero
Definition: A pilgrim, one who visits a shrine. This nickname was originally
applied to travelers from the western (Roman) empire who had to pass through the eastern (Byzantine) empire on their way to
the holy land. According to the Instituto Genealógico e Histórico Latino-Americano, the Romero surname originated principally
in the Spanish areas of Galicia, Aragón, Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castile. Romarin is a French version of this surname,
while Romer is the German variation.
Surname Origin: Spanish
Alternate Surname Spellings: ROMERRO
Torres
Definition: A name given to a person who lived in or near a tower, from
the Latin "turris."
Surname Origin: Spanish, Portugese
Origin: Spanish: Spelling variations include: Torres, Torre, de Torres, de las Torres, de la Torre,
de Torre, Turre, de Turre and many more.
First found in Castile, where the name originated in Visigothic times. Some of the first settlers of this name or some
of its variants were: Among the early colonizers of the New World was Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón, who settled first in Buenos
Aires and later in Asuncion. Other members of the family who were early emigrants to Spain's colonies in the New World included
Juan, who emigrated to Chile in 1560.
Alternate Surname Spellings: TORREZ, TORES, TOREZ
Vasquez
Definition: 1) Son of Vasco 2) one who came from the Basque country
(from the words vasco, velasco and belasco, each suggesting a place or ethnicity in the Basque provinces of Spain) 3) a shepherd,
one who tended sheep
Surname Origin: Spanish
Alternate Surname Spellings: VASQUIZ, VASQUES
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