Barraza
A Spanish surname probably built from barra, meaning “bar” or “iron rod,” with Barraza functioning as an augmentative or related form.
The #2,004 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,124 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname appears to come from Spanish barra, “bar,” “rod,” or “iron bar,” with Barraza treated in older Hispanic scholarship as an augmentative or related form of that base. In that sense, the name would originally have referred to something shaped like a bar or to a person connected with bars, rods, or ironwork. The exact pathway is not fully certain from the surviving excerpt, but the root meaning is clearly tied to barra.
History
Barraza is a surname of Hispanic origin and is found especially in Spanish-speaking communities, including the Americas. The form is well established as a family name rather than a common word in modern usage. Because the excerpt is incidental and brief, the early geographical history of the surname is not recoverable from this source alone.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old source glosses Barraza alongside other barra-based forms such as Barreda and Barrera, showing how many Spanish surnames grew from the same simple root.
From the historical record
“Cultad. | ( Barras Plural de Barra. Barraza Aumentativo de Barra, Barreda. Barrera, Barrena. Instrumento de hierro de varios gruesos i ta- mafños, con una manija de palo atravesada arriba. Barra de hierro con dos estremos cortantes.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos