Galicians ( or pobo galego; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct customs, culture, language, music, dance, sports, art, cuisine, and mythology.

Galician, a Romance language derived from the Latin of ancient Roman Gallaecia, is their native language and a primary cultural expression, sharing a common origin with Portuguese. They are closely related to the Portuguese people.

Etymology

The ethnonym of the Galicians (galegos) derives directly from the Latin Gallaeci or Callaeci, itself an adaptation of the name of a local Celtic tribe, s.v. Callaeci. known to the Greeks as Καλλαϊκoί (Kallaikoí). They lived in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal and were defeated by the Roman General Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in the 2nd century BCE and later conquered by Augustus. The Romans later applied that name to all the people who shared the same culture and language in the north-west, from the Douro River valley in the south to the Cantabrian Sea in the north and west to the Navia River. That encompassed such tribes as the Celtici, the Artabri, the Lemavi and the Albiones.

The oldest known inscription referring to the Gallaeci (reading Ἔθνο[υς] Καλλαικῶ[ν], "people of the Gallaeci") was found in 1981 in the Sebasteion of Aphrodisias, Turkey; a triumphal monument to Roman Emperor Augustus mentions them among other 15 nations that he conquered.

The etymology of the name has been studied since the 7th century by authors such as Isidore of Seville, who wrote, "Galicians are called so because of their fair skin, as the Gauls" and related the name to the Greek word for "milk," γάλα (gála). However, modern scholars like J.J. Moralejo and Carlos Búa have derived the name of the ancient Callaeci either from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥(H)‑n‑ 'hill', through a local relational suffix -aik-, also attested in Celtiberian language and so meaning 'the highlanders'; or else from Proto-Celtic *kallī- 'forest' and so means 'the forest (people)'.Curchin, Leonard A. (2008) Estudios Gallegos The toponyms of the Roman Galicia: New Study . CUADERNOS DE ESTUDIOS GALLEGOS LV (121) p. 111

Another recent proposal comes from the linguist Francesco Benozzo, who is not specialized in Celtic languages and identified the root gall- / kall- in a number of Celtic words with the meaning "stone" or "rock", as follows: gall (old Irish), gal (Middle Welsh), gailleichan (Scottish Gaelic), galagh (Manx) and gall (Gaulish). Hence, Benozzo explains the name Callaecia and its ethnonym Callaeci as being "the stone people" or "the people of the stone" ("those who work with stones"), in reference to the ancient megaliths and stone formations that are so common in Galicia and Portugal.Benozzo, F. (2018) Uma paisagem atlântica pré-histórica. Etnogénese e etno-filologia paleo-mesolítica das tradições galega e portuguesa, in proceedings of Jornadas das Letras Galego-Portuguesas 2015–2017, DTS, Università di Bologna and Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa, pp. 159-170. Specialists of the Celtic languages do not consider there is a hypothetical Gaulish root *gall meaning "stone" or "rock", but *galiā "strength" (> French gaill-ard "strong"), related to Old Irish gal "berserk rage, war fury", Welsh gallu and Breton galloud "power".Pierre-Yves Lambert, Histoire de la langue gauloise, éditions Errance, 1994, p. 99 - 194 It is distinct from Gaulish *cal(l)io- "hoof" or "testicle",LAMBERT 191Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, Errance, 2003, p. 98-99 related to Welsh caill, Breton kell "testicle" (> Gaulish *caliavo > Old French chaillou, French caillou),DELAMARRE 98 - 99 all from the Proto-Indo-European root *kal- "hard hardness" (perhaps via suffixed zero-grade *kl̥H-no-(m)). For instance, in Latin callum "hard or thick substance" is also found and so both E. Rivas and Juan J. Moralejo relate the toponym Gallaecia / Callaecia with the Latin word callus.Fernando Cabeza Quiles, Toponimia de Galicia, Editorial Galaxia, 2008, p. 301 - 302 - 303 (read online in Galician)

Languages

Galician

Galician is a Romance language belonging to the Western Ibero-Romance branch, deriving from Latin, and holds official status in Galicia. It is also spoken in bordering areas of Asturias and Castile and León.

Medieval or Old Galician, known linguistically as Galician-Portuguese, evolved in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula from Vulgar Latin, becoming the written and spoken language of the medieval Galicia and Portugal. This language developed a notable literary tradition from the late 12th century and gradually replaced Latin in public and private documents in Galicia, Portugal, and neighboring regions.

From the 15th century, Galician-Portuguese diverged into Galician and Portuguese. Galician evolved primarily as a regional spoken language influenced by Castilian Spanish, while Portuguese became an international language. Despite this divergence, the two languages remain closely related, particularly northern Portuguese dialects and Galician. The Royal Galician Academy, the official regulatory institution for the Galician language, considers modern Galician an independent Ibero-Romance language closely related to Portuguese, particularly its northern dialects.

While Galician has official recognition, its socio-linguistic development faces the increasing influence of Spanish and a persistent linguistic erosion due to media and the legal imposition of Spanish in education.

Galicia also maintains a significant literary and oral tradition of songs, tales, and sayings, contributing to the spread and development of the Galician language, sharing commonalities with that of Portugal.

Surnames

Galician surnames,For this section: Cf. Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo / Xulio Sousa Fernández (dirs.): . Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega. as is the case in most European cultures, can be divided into patronymic (originally based on one's father's name), occupational, toponymic or cognominal. The first group, patronymic includes many of the most frequent surnames and became fixed during the Low Middle Ages; it includes surnames derived from etyma formed with or without the additions of the patronymical suffixes -az, -ez, -iz: Alberte (Albert); Afonso (Alfons); Anes, Oanes, Yanes (Iohannes); Arias; Bernárdez (Bernard); Bermúdez (Medieval Galician Uermues, cf. Wermuth); Cristobo (Christopher); Diz (from Didaci); Estévez (Stephan); Fernández; Fiz (from Felici); Froiz, Frois (From Froilaci, from the Gothic personal name Froila, "lord"); Giance (Latin Iulianici); González; Henríquez (Henry); Martís (Martin); Méndez (Menendici); Miguéns, Miguez (from Michaelici, equivalent to Michaels); Páez, Pais, Paz (from Pelagici, Pelagio); Ramírez; Reimúndez (Raymond); Rodríguez; Sánchez; Sueiro (from Suarius); Tomé (from Thomas); Viéitez, Vieites (Benedictici, Benedict), among many others.

Because of the settlement of Galician colonists in southern Spain during the Reconquista, some of the more frequent and distinctively Galician surnames also became popular in Spanish (which had its own related forms) and were taken later into the Americas, as a consequence of the expansion of the Spanish empire:

+ Some Galician patronymical surnames English name Old Galician (13-15th c.) Modern Galician Spanish John Eanes Anes, Oanes, Yanes Yáñez, Ibáñez Stephen Esteuaes, Esteuaez, Esteueez Estévez Estévanez - Froes, Froez Fróiz, Frois Flores, Flórez Julian Giançe, Gianz, Gians Giance Juliánez Ermengild Meendez, Meendes Méndez Menéndez, Meléndez Martin Martiiz Martíns, Martís Martínez Michael Migueez Miguéns, Míguez Miguélez Pelagius Paaez, Paaz Páes, Paiz, Paz Peláez - Veasques, Vaasquez Vázquez Velázquez, Blázquez Benedict Beeytez, Beeytes Viéitez, Vieites Benítez

The largest surname group is the one derived from toponyms, which usually referred to the place of origin or residence of the bearer. These places can be European countries (as is the case in the surnames Bretaña, Franza, España, Portugal) or nations (Franco, "Frenchman"); Galician regions (Bergantiños, Carnota, Cavarcos, Sanlés); or cities, towns or villages, which gave origin to a few thousand surnames. Another related group is formed with the preposition de, usually contracted with the definite article as da or do, and a common appellative: Dacosta (or Da Costa), "of the slope", Dopazo or Do Pazo ("of the palace/manor house"); Doval, "of the valley" (cfr. French Duval), Daponte ("of the bridge"), Davila ("of the town", not to be confused with Spanish Dávila), Daporta ("of the gate"); Dasilva ("of the forest"), Dorrío ("of the river"), Datorre ("of the Tower"). Through rebracketing, some of these surnames gave origin to others such as Acosta or Acuña.

A few of these toponymic surnames can be considered nobiliary, as they first appear as the name of some Galician noble houses, later expanding when these nobles began to serve as officials of the Spanish Empire, in Spain or elsewhere, as a way of maintaining them both far from Galicia and useful to the Empire: Andrade (from the house of Andrade, itself from the name of a village), Mejía or Mexía (from the house of Mesía), Saavedra, Soutomaior (Hispanicized Sotomayor), Ulloa, Moscoso, Mariñas, Figueroa among others. Some of these families also served in Portugal, as the Andrade, Soutomaior or Lemos (who originated in Monforte de Lemos). As a result, these surnames are by now distributed all around the world.

The third group of surnames are the occupational ones, derived from the job or legal status of the bearer: Ferreiro ("Smith"), Carpinteiro ("Carpenter"), Besteiro ("Crossbow bearer"), Crego ("Priest"), Freire ("Friar"), Faraldo ("Herald"), Pintor ("Painter"), Pedreiro ("Stonemason"), Gaiteiro ("Bagpiper"); and also Cabaleiro ("Knight"), Escudeiro ("Esquire"), Fidalgo ("Nobleman"), Juiz ("Judge").

The fourth group includes the surnames derived from nicknames, which can have very diverse motivations:

a) External appearance, as eye colour (Ruso, from Latin roscidus, grey-eyed; Garzo, blue-eyed), hair colour (Dourado, "Blonde"; Bermello, "Red"; Cerviño, literally "deer-like", "Tawny, Auburn"; Cao, "white"), complexion (Branco, "White"; Pardo, "Swarth"; Delgado, "Slender") or other characteristics: Formoso ("Handsome"), Tato ("Stutterer"), Forte ("Strong"), Calviño ("Bald"), Esquerdeiro ("Left-handed").

b) Temperament and personality: Bonome, Bonhome ("Goodman"), Fiúza ("Who can be trusted"), Guerreiro ("Warlike"), Cordo ("Judicious").

c) Tree names: Carballo ("Oak"); Amieiro, Ameneiro ("Alder"); Freijo ("Ash tree").

d) Animal names: Gerpe (from Serpe, "Serpent"); Falcón ("Falcon"); Baleato ("Young Whale"); Gato ("Cat"); Coello ("Rabbit"); Aguia ("Eagle")

e) Deeds: Romeu (a person who pilgrimaged to Rome or the Holy Land)

Many Galician surnames have become Castilianized over the centuries, most notably after the forced submission of the Galician nobility obtained by the Catholic Monarchs in the last years of the 15th century. This reflected the gradual spread of the Spanish language through the cities, in Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, A Coruña, Vigo and Ferrol, in the last case due to the establishment of an important base of the Spanish navy there in the 18th century. For example, surnames like Orxás, Veiga, Outeiro, became Orjales, Vega, Otero. Toponyms like Ourense, A Coruña, Fisterra became Orense, La Coruña, Finisterre. In many cases this linguistic assimilation created confusion, for example Niño da Aguia (Galician: Eagle's Nest) was translated into Spanish as Niño de la Guía (Spanish: the Guide's child) and Mesón do Bento (Galician: Benedict's house) was translated as Mesón del Viento (Spanish: House of Wind).

History

Prehistory