[Surname] Re: Murrieta
in reply to a message by Rory Skene
Just to be clear, I have no knowledge of Basque names or language.
Murrieta is a name from the Biscay part of Spain.
Basque "-eta" means "an abundance of."
The name has a few variants Murieta / Murietta / Murieta, etc.
I cannot find a definitely meaning for the beginning of the name, but...
"Murri" means "to die" in Basque.
Furthermore, while Basque is older than Latin, Latin is the mother language of Spanish and Spanish influence did later slip into the Basque language. "Murus" means "wall" in Latin and is used in Spanish place names such as Mura in Barcelona. It was used to describe many places surrounded by or near to a wall. If the name derives from a mix of Spanish and Basque, it could be "beyond the wall" or "many walls."
If it's completely from Basque, all I can find is that it would mean "an abundance of death" or "many deaths."
Those translations are all correct, but I cannot be sure there isn't other influence or other words the "murri" part could have derived from.
I only know I spent over an hour researching this name for you.
Murrieta is a name from the Biscay part of Spain.
Basque "-eta" means "an abundance of."
The name has a few variants Murieta / Murietta / Murieta, etc.
I cannot find a definitely meaning for the beginning of the name, but...
"Murri" means "to die" in Basque.
Furthermore, while Basque is older than Latin, Latin is the mother language of Spanish and Spanish influence did later slip into the Basque language. "Murus" means "wall" in Latin and is used in Spanish place names such as Mura in Barcelona. It was used to describe many places surrounded by or near to a wall. If the name derives from a mix of Spanish and Basque, it could be "beyond the wall" or "many walls."
If it's completely from Basque, all I can find is that it would mean "an abundance of death" or "many deaths."
Those translations are all correct, but I cannot be sure there isn't other influence or other words the "murri" part could have derived from.
I only know I spent over an hour researching this name for you.