History of Mallorcan surnames
Mallorca is now a very cosmopolitan place, with residents from a wide variety of backgrounds. Throughout history, people from different parts of the world have settled here, and this trend has accelerated in recent years. With them came traditions, customs and, of course, their surnames. In this post, we will discuss Mallorcan surnames – those traditionally considered most typical of the island.
How surnames used to be
In the past, people did not have what we now understand as a surname, and in our country they only began to be used from the 13th/14th centuries onwards. However, people did have a first name, a personal name assigned to them by their parents according to their preferences. In slightly larger communities, and to avoid name clashes, something was added to distinguish them. Thus, for example, we have all heard of Thales of Miletus, Antiochus of Syracuse or Jesus of Nazareth, the second designation being not a surname but simply a geographical location.
This was the norm in Antiquity, with the exception of the Roman world and also the classical Arabs, who had their own systems for designating people, which were more complex and distinctive.
First names, surnames, influences and meanings
If we delve deeper into our history, we will see that many of our current first names and surnames have been influenced by, or even originate from, various civilisations. This is particularly true of the Hebrew, Greek, Roman-Latin, Germanic and Arabic worlds.
For example:
From the Hebrew world: Gabriel (from Gabri’el, meaning ‘messenger of God’)
Of classical Greek origin: Felipe (from Philippos, ‘lover of horses’) or Nicolás (from Nikolaos, ‘victory of the people’)
From the Germanic world: Alfonso (from Adalfuns, ‘noble and willing’) or Ricardo (from Ricohard, ‘powerful and strong’)
Of Latin origin: Antonio (from the Nomen ‘Antonius’, a Roman family clan)
The Catalan origins of many surnames in Mallorca
In 1229 the King of the Crown of Aragon, Jaime I, landed in Mallorca to begin his conquest. He was accompanied by hundreds of knights and thousands of soldiers, mainly of Catalan, Aragonese, Provençal amd Geonese origin.
This meant a drastic change in the population of the island, where the former Muslim settlers were mostly massacred, and replaced by the conquistadors. And with them their customs and surnames.
Even so, it seems that after the conquest by the christians, some surnames of Arab origin remained, such as Binnimelis or Bennàssar, (from Ibn-Nasr, or “son of Nàsser”), although perhaps these would be more linked to the name of a farmhouse than to a surviving Muslim family.
Currently, 40% of the surnames considered traditional Balearic surnames are actually toponyms from Catalonia, for example Lladó (or Lledó) corresponds to a municipality in Alt Empordá. Others, such as Ferrer, also have a clear Catalan origin, but in this case taken from a profession (Herrero, in Castillian Spanish) (Blacksmith, in English).
We will also find surnames related to a phisycal characteristic, such as Mut (mute), behavioural (Amorós) ( amorous behaviour), or to some animals as Vadell and Bou (calf and bull respectivelly).
Curiously, here in Mallorca the surnames are known as “Llinatges” (in castillian Spanish it would be “Linajes”) which sounds a bit ancestral to us, while in Catalonia it is called “Cognoms”.
Some distinctive Mallorcan surnames
Noble surnames
Ya fuera porque apoyaron al rey Jaime I en la conquista, o porque en siglos posteriores consiguieran hacer una gran fortuna, ciertos apellidos familiares se ubicaron en el status de la nobleza mallorquina. Así por ejemplo los Dameto, Zaforteza, Conrado, Ramis de Ayreflor, Puigdorfila, Dezcallar, Oleza y otros, aunque hoy en día muchos de sus descendientes tengan ocupaciones y vidas como cualquier otro ciudadano corriente.
“Xuetas” surnames
This term, so typical of Mallorca and unknown on the mainland, refers to the surnames of Jews who were forced to abandon their religion and convert to Christianity. They were Jewish converts.
Nowadays, these surnames are quite common on our island, and the best known are: Aguiló, Bonnín, Forteza, Fuster, Piña, Pomar, Miró, Picó, Segura, Tarongí…
A new trend in surnames in Mallorca
As the centuries have passed, surnames of other origins have begun to appear, such as Rigo or Ferrari (of Italian origin), although it was really from the 1950s onwards that the landscape changed completely.
Heavy immigration from the mainland meant that what were considered traditional surnames gradually declined in prevalence, and today García, Martínez, López, Rodríguez and Sánchez are by far the most common in our community.
According to the author Gabriel Bibiloni, of the 1,932 most ‘traditional’ surnames he has been able to document in his studies—and which already existed in the 13th century—only 751 remain today. Among them are Pons (very common in Menorca), Ferrer, Serra, Riera, Oliver and Coll, which are now the most common on the island.
Mass tourism has also brought new surnames of European origin (German, British, French, Scandinavian or others) and, more recently, the presence of immigrants from North Africa or South America is once again diversifying the spectrum.
Final thoughts
Societies are living entities that are constantly changing, and this is reflected in our island, which is continually influenced by new people and diverse migratory flows.
In fact, it is worth noting that until the 19th century, people in Mallorca had only one surname, with the exception of the nobility, who already had two or even more. The custom of having two surnames was introduced by the Castilians, and in some cases the way they were written was also altered: in 1870 the Civil Registry came into operation and many first names and surnames were adapted to Spanish spelling.
We do not know what the future holds, but what is certain is that Mallorcans will have surnames with origins even more diverse than they are today.
This article is merely a brief summary of the vast scope of this subject. For those wishing to explore this further, we recommend Gabriel Bibiloni’s book “Els cognoms de les Illes Balears”
If you are interested in the subject of Mallorcan surnames, you may be interested in knowing something about Mallorcan surnames in Puerto Rico, emigrated during the 20th century. Mallorcans in Puerto Rico
Mallorca’s history is also preserved in its traditions, its villages and its cuisine, all of which are still very much alive today in many of the island’s products. Discover the best gourmet products from Mallorca
