Arciniega
A Spanish surname tied to the place name Arciniega, most likely meaning someone who came from that locality.
The #9,352 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,771 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Arciniega is a habitational surname, formed from the name of a place called Arciniega/Artziniega in the Basque Country. The place name is generally treated as Basque in origin, though the exact older elements are not completely certain. In surname use, it would originally have identified a person as coming from that town or estate.
History
The name appears in Spanish historical writing as a territorial surname attached to families of the northern Iberian nobility. In modern times it survives mainly as a Hispanic surname, with bearers found especially in Spanish-speaking communities. The excerpted source points to a noble family association, but it does not provide a full etymology of the place name itself.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Arciniega is also the name of a municipality in Álava, Spain, which is the likely source of the surname.
From the historical record
“y jefe militar entonces de la gente de Salazar, el man- dato del Rey D. Pedro para que concurra al sitio de Arciniega que Velasco dirigía, y San Pelayo acude al frente de 600 hombres, siendo prueba de que las cues- tiones entre los dos linajes no habían terminado el que Velasco aprovechara la ocasión para librarse…”
— Origen de 300 apellidos castellanos y vascongados