Borja
A Spanish surname most often linked to the town of Borja in Aragón, later famed through the House of Borja (Borgia).
The #4,656 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,528 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Borja is generally understood as a habitational surname, originally referring to someone from the town of Borja in Zaragoza, Spain. The place-name itself is ancient and likely predates the surname, though older scholars discussed it in various ways and its deeper root is not entirely certain. In later history the name became widely known through the powerful Borja family, known in Italy as the Borgias.
History
The surname is historically associated with the noble House of Borja from Aragón, whose members rose to high prominence in Spain and Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries. Because of that family, the name spread in forms such as Borja and Borgia. It remains most strongly associated with Spain and Spanish-speaking communities, but it is also found in regions touched by Spanish and Italian migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname became internationally famous through Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo de Borja, whose Italianized surname was Borgia.
From the historical record
“ron exentos de esta debilidad. Cuando aun ator- mentado el vocablo resistía la asimilación , como sucedió con el apellido Borja , se falsificaban inscripciones. En este punto consideraban á los griegos y romanos como antepasados, y por lo tanto ennoblecía apellidarse como ellos; todo otro origen era mirado como…”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos