Saenz (pronounced sigh-nz) is a Spanish surname originating in The Kingdom of Spain in the Castile region, now known as La Rioja
History
Originally a variation of Sánchez, the son of Sancho (a Spanish form of the name Sanctius), sometimes from nobility, and also a Sephardic surname[1], "Saenz" (signs).
Spelling variations of this family name include: Saens, Sans, Sanx, Sanz, Sainz, Saiz, Saez, and many more. [2]
Originating from the Castilla La Vieja (now Rioja) region in The Kingdom of Spain created by Semitic families who immigrated into the region, some via the Way of St. James, due to religious conflicts in their native lands using this name as a way of assimilating into their new country of settlement.
One of the earliest known "Saenz" is believed to be Fortun Saenz de Vera, a Basque crusader who, acting on behalf of King James I of Aragon (1208 - 1276), was present on their campaigns of "Reconquista", fighting at Valencia, Balearic Islands, Murcia, etc.,[3]
Integrating with Spain's native people, the name became common in this territory. These families, and those like them, were known as Conversos or Sephardi. Later in 1478, due to the Alhambra Decree, many Saenz family members that retained forms of Judaism faiths were forced to migrate to new lands. Another possible origin of this name is from Morocco. Arabian tribes, possibly the Jewish Banu Saidah or Muslim Banu Tamim from Saudi Arabia, migrated from Arabia to North Africa after the arrival of Islam. The Banu Tamim even had a dynasty in North Africa.
Several Spanish Jews living in Spain, so-called Conversos, changed their faith to Catholicism to avoid Catholic persecution for having their original faith be Judaism. These Jews were forced to adopt Spanish names to live in Spain after conversion, using Spanish names to "prove" to authorities that their conversion was "true". (see Religious conversion)
This was common place in dark-age times, both in Spain and Portugal, where Jews adopted tree names in Portuguese, like "Oliveira" ( olive tree ), "Pereira" ( pear tree ), "Salgueiro" ( willow tree), "Figueira" ( fig tree ), etc. In Portugal, these Jews were called "Cristãos-Novos" ( new Christians ). The Saenz coat of arms denotes a tree in line with this Jewish aspect, as well as two similar fruits on either side of the tree and opposing lions on the latter half of the shield, depicting a duality involved in the root of the name.
During the Spanish conquest of Mexico several Saenz members migrated over to New Spain, which later became Mexico and the United States of America. This was genetically proven when Bennett Greenspan, the President of Family Tree DNA Inc., had this to say regarding a DNA research project on Mexican families:
| “ | One item for you to be aware of... If you are testing male members of the founding families of Mexico, especially the founding families of Northern Mexico, you will probably see a strong percent of Semitic DNA evidence from Crypto Jews who were among the Spanish conquerors of Mexico from the 1500s. We have clearly seen these foot steps in the testing we have done to date. [4] | ” |
Not all Saenz families, however, are from Jewish origin. There are some who bear the surname Saenz that are purely European or of Arab (middle-eastern) origin taken on by a small percentage of Islamic Arabs during the "Way of St. James" era, after the period known as the "Golden Age of Islam".
Being a widespread family name in Spain, not all Saenz families are related to each other today.
Many Saenz families also traveled to other now Spanish based countries such as: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina and other South American countries.
Today a large number of Saenz families still reside in Spain, France and throughout Europe. The largest population of Saenz's in the world currently reside in Basque Country[citation needed] (an autonomous community), an administrative division of Spain.
The United States also has relatively large Saenz populations. This is because many Spaniards migrated to and settled in the New Spain territories. Some time later, many Saenz families left the New Spain region during and after a Mexican revolt against the wealthy New Spaniards. With a high percentage of Saenz's eventually moving further North and throughout The Americas (Texas primarily[5]).
Notes and references
External links
- de Santamaria - Wine company depicting the Saenz surname based in La Rioja, the historic Saenz land of origin
- History of Los Saenz, Texas - Brief overview of the history of Roma-Los Saenz, Texas
- Jewish families in Mexico - Life history of many Spanish families who practiced the Jewish faith while living in Mexico
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