Aya History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Spain

Etymology of Aya

What does the name Aya mean?

Noble surnames, such as Aya, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Aya, 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. Many Spanish local names reflect Arabic words or place-names because Spain was conquered by the Muslim Moors from the 8th to 12th centuries. The Aya family originally derived its name from the name of the province of Ayala in Vascongadas.

Early Origins of the Aya family

The surname Aya was first found in the Basque region of north central Spain.

Early History of the Aya family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aya research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1353, 1407, 1555 and 1837 are included under the topic Early Aya History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aya Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ayala, Ayalla, Aya and others.

Early Notables of the Aya family

Don Pero (Pedro) López de Ayala (1332-1407), a Castilian statesman, historian, poet, chronicler, chancellor, and courtier, remembered for his satirical and didactic Libro Rimado de Palacio
were sixteenth century Navarrese nobleman Juan de Ayala
Matías de Ayala, made a Knight of the Order of St. John in 1555
seventeenth century Spanish painter Bernabé de Ayala, a disciple of Zurbarán
eighteenth century officers of the Spanish Marine Guard Tomás, Bruno and Juan de Ayala y Aranza
nineteenth century Cuban law professor and administrator Pedro Antonio de Ayala y del Olmo
Antonio de Ayala, husband of Spanish novelist Cecilia Böhl de Faber (Fernán Caballero) in 1837

Migration of the Aya family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Diego de Ayala, who emigrated to America in 1510; Pedro, in 1512; Alonso, in 1513; Pedro, to Peru in 1534; Isabel, to Peru in 1560; Juana, to New Spain in 1576.