Salazar
A Spanish surname most often tied to a place-name, widely associated with medieval Castile and the Basque country.
The #179 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,022 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Salazar is generally understood as a locational surname, from a place called Salazar in Spain. The place-name is commonly connected with Basque elements, often explained as sal 'hall, house' plus zahar 'old', though older sources sometimes proposed different or uncertain analyses. In surname use, it would have identified someone who came from that place or lordship.
History
The name is strongly linked with medieval Iberian nobility and with families recorded in Castile and Navarre. It appears in historical genealogical works on Spanish surnames, and it spread widely through Spain and later across the Spanish-speaking world. In the Americas it is now a common surname, especially in countries with strong Spanish settlement history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Salazar is one of the Spanish surnames that became especially prominent in both noble lineages and everyday family use, which helps explain its broad modern distribution.
From the historical record
“Salas 357. Salat 678. Salazar 538. Salcedo 379. Saleb, -bi 706. Salejus .579. ♦Salentini 434. ♦Salernum 444.”
— Die Personennamen, insbesondere die Familiennamen