This is the meaning and origin of the most common surname in Barcelona

We identify ourselves with surnames as much as with names, which tend to be more varied. But some coincide more than others and are repeated. In Spain there are many common surnames such as Fernández, Rodríguez, Martínez, Pérez, Sánchez or González. At the top of the most common surnames is García, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

A total of 1,449,647 people have the surname García, that is, 30.5 people out of every 1000. It is one of the oldest surnames in Spain and the most common in Barcelona, ​​since 174,000 people have it as their first or second surname, more than 20% of Barcelona residents. Many famous people have this surname: Rudi García, Alfred García, Antonio García Ferreras, Ramón García, among other celebrities.

Rodríguez, “a surname of kings”, is the second most common surname in Spain, carried by around 930,000 people, whose origin dates back to the ancient kingdom of Castile. The podium is completed by González, with 925,695 people, which derives from the name Gonzalo and whose beliefs indicate its origin is from the Visigoths.

The surname and the need to identify belonging

“Family name by which people are distinguished” define RAE the word last name. The name is born out of necessity to identify a person and the surname, therefore, to identify his or her link to a family or place.

At first the father’s name was used, from which surnames ending in -ez began to emerge, such as Rodríguez (son of Rodrigo) or Fernández (son of Fernando). attributed to work or physical traitoriginal system of the Romans called Tria Nominafrom which there were three names: first name (First name), nomen (last name) and acquaintance (physical or psychological characteristic).

Garcia, a very ancient origin

The origin of the surname García is very old, so it is not known exactly where it comes from. However, there are different theories that explain its etymology. On the one hand, the philologist and historian Alberto Montaner supports that García comes from the word vasca (h)artzwhich translated into Spanish means bear, so it could refer to “bear family.”

Another theory takes us to the Scandinavian region. According to this hypothesis, García has Germanic roots and the meaning would be “prince of graceful sight”, associated with beauty. In Spain, the first time García was used as a surname was in Navarre. Some authors, on the other hand, point out that the first person to bear it was García I of León, first king of León between the years 910 and 914.