Arriaga
A Spanish surname from a place name, likely meaning a rough or stony land.
The #1,865 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,050 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Arriaga is a habitational surname, taken from a place called Arriaga or from a similar toponym in the Basque-speaking area of Spain. It is commonly explained from Basque elements related to harri/arri, meaning "stone" or "rock," plus the suffix -aga, which often marks a place. In that sense, the name would originally point to someone who came from a rocky or stony place.
History
The surname is well established in Spain and later spread widely through the Spanish-speaking world, especially to Latin America. It is also found in the United States through migration from Mexico, Central America, and other Spanish-speaking regions. Because it is a place-based name, unrelated families may have adopted it independently from different localities called Arriaga.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname appears in several noble and literary lineages in Spanish history, which helped preserve it as a recognizable family name.