Show ContentsGalarza History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Galarza, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Galarza, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. Galarza is a habitation name, which is a type of local surname that is derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Galarza family

The surname Galarza was first found in Galicia, in the northwestern region of the Iberian peninsula.

Early History of the Galarza family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Galarza research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1274, 1440, 1507, 1563, 1617, 1618 and 1619 are included under the topic Early Galarza History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Galarza Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gallego, Gallegos and others.

Early Notables of the Galarza family

Prominent among members of the family Fernando Gallego (c.1440-1507), a Spanish painter, his art is generally regarded as Hispano-Flemish in style, who decorated many churches in the regions of Leon and Extremadura...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Galarza Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Galarza Ranking

In the United States, the name Galarza is the 3,828th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. [1]


United States Galarza migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Galarza Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Obdulio Galarza, aged 19, originally from Villafranca, Spain, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Montevideo" from Barcelona [2]
  • Martin Galarza, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "San Jacinto" from Havana American Gulf Ports [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name Galarza (post 1700) +

  • Ernesto Galarza (1905-1984), Mexican-American labor activist, professor, poet and writer
  • Nydia Estrada Galarza, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Puerto Rico, 1996 [3]
  • Sergio Daniel Galarza Soliz (b. 1975), Bolivian football goalkeeper
  • Mariano Galarza (b. 1986), Argentine rugby union player
  • Marcos Adrián Galarza (b. 1984), Argentine football defender


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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