Zavala
A Basque surname originally referring to a wide, open, or low-lying place.
The #667 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,036 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Zavala is generally treated as a Basque locational surname, linked to a place name or topographic term. It is usually explained from Basque elements associated with a flat, open, or low-lying area, much like a meadow or plain. In this sense, the name would have identified someone who came from such a place.
History
The surname is well known in Spain and especially across the Spanish-speaking world, where it spread through migration from the Basque Country and surrounding regions. It is common in Latin America and the southwestern United States, where it appears in records of Spanish colonial and later Mexican-American families. Because the excerpt provided does not discuss the surname’s origin directly, this entry relies on general onomastic knowledge rather than the source text itself.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Zavala is also the name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, which fits the surname’s place-based origin.
From the historical record
“Julio A. Diaz C. Luis A. Zavala Cárlos A. Muñoz Temístocles Céspedes Ismael Goicolea Amador Olivos Pedro N Pinto”
— Diccionario de los apellidos