The Spanish word most resembling the word Longoria is longuera, which means a long, narrow strip of land Thus, it may be that the name Longoria is derived from longuera and was originally used to designate an individual or family living on or near a long, narrow strip of land. Interestingly, the village of Longoria, in the province of Asturias, Spain, is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Rio Narcea and the Rio Pigueña. Perhaps, a longuera created by the two rivers at that site was the origin for the surname that through the passage of time became transformed into longoria.

A more likely possibility is that longoria was an Asturian word, perhaps even having the same meaning as the Spanish word longuera. In the 15th and 16th centuries, before the different Kingdoms of Spain had been united into one, each Kingdom had its own dialect. Each of the different dialects was derived from the Italian spoken by the Roman Empire, and had many similarities with each other, to the point even of having many common words. Nevertheless, these dialects were distinct and exist even to this day in Spain. These Ibero-Romance dialects include Castellano (Castile), Catala (Catalonia), Gascon (Gasconia), Portugues (Portugal), Galego (Galicia), Aragones (Aragon), and Asturianu (Asturias). As Castile became the dominant kingdom, its dialect became the dominant language for the united country. That dialect, Castellano, or Castillian Spanish as we call it, became the common language for Spain. Today, when we refer to the Spanish language we are actually referring to Castillian Spanish, its most common form. Since the Longorias were living in Asturias in the sixteenth century, and probably much earlier, it stands to reason that they spoke Asturianu, the Asturian dialect. The word longoria quite likely has some meaning in Asturianu, but I have yet to fully research that possibility. My speculation, for now, is that the Castillian longuera was a variation of an Asturianu word longoria, but this is simply a guess.

The earliest I have been able to trace back our direct Longoria ancestry is to Pedro de Longoria, father of Alonzo de la Pontiga and the grandfather of Lorenzo Suarez de Longoria. The word pontiga serves as a good example for my belief that longoria may have some meaning in the Asturianu dialect. The word pontiga has no meaning in Castillian Spanish; however, I was able to find it in a condensed version of an Asturianu dictionary. Pontiga is an Asturianu word that translates into “entrada de horreo”, or granary entrance, in Castillian Spanish. This example forms the basis for my belief that longoria may have some meaning in Asturianu.

A lady from Rome, Italy also emailed me with another possible meaning for the word Longoria.  She pointed out that the Iberian Peninsula was once part of the Roman Empire and retains many words rooted in the Roman language.  She suggested that Longoria could be derived from the two Italian words longo (meaning long) and ria (meaning river); hence, Longoria could mean "long river".  This is an interesting possibility considering that the ancestral Longoria homes were located along the Rio Narcea.

The town of Alcalá del Obispo, in the Council of Huesca in Aragon, is a likely possibility for the source of the Alcalá surname. This is the location of one of the ancient ancestral homes of the Alcalás , and is where historical records make one of the earliest mentions of an Alcalá, a knight by the name of Galin Jimenez de Alcalá, in the year 1137. (Could it be just a coincidence that my wife’s Alcalá ancestors came from a town by the name of Jimenez in Tamaulipas, Mexico?) There are several other subsequent mentions in the historical records of other prominent men with the surname Alcalá. Among these were two knights, Odon de Alcalá and Pedro de Alcalá, in the year 1160.

Other towns with the name of Alcalá include Alcalá de la Selva in the province of Aragon, Alcalá de Guadaira, Alcalá la Real and Alcalá de los Gazules in Andalusia, and perhaps the most famous of all, Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. In Madrid itself is the famous monument Puerta de Alcalá (photo), in the Plaza de la Independencia on the Calle Alcalá; it was a former gateway to the city on the road from Aragon.

Garza means heron in Spanish. Probably the most common Spanish surname in the New World, it originated in Castile.

Treviño is of uncertain origins and meaning. Some believe it to be of Castilian origin, from the mountains of Burgos, while others believe it to be of Basque origin. There are also some who believe that the word derives from the Italian tre, meaning three, and vino meaning wine or vines; thus, the meaning would be three vines.

Solis is Asturian in origin, being one of the oldest and most famous names in Asturias. It dates from the 12th century, from a man named Gutierre Rodriguez, Señor de Solis. In Asturias also, there is a small parish named Solis in the municipality of Corvera, under the jurisdiction of Aviles (just to the north of Oviedo). Another famous Solis, Pedro de Solis, was from Aviles and attained several prominent positions, including Abad de Arbas (abbot of Arbas), Dean of Oviedo (dean of Oviedo) and Arcediano de Madrid (archdeacon of Madrid). In Tineo also, the Solis attained important and prominent positions.

Quintana is believed to be of Roman origin, with a meaning of “country house”. Some believe it originated in central Spain, others believe it is Basque. There are several places named Quintana throughout Spain. In Asturias, there is a Quintana east of Oviedo and another Quintana in the Concejo Belmonte de Miranda, just to the west of Longoria.

Vidaurri is of Basque origin, translating into “facing the road” or “fronting the road”. There are Vidaurri ancestral homes in Orduña (in Viscaya), in Villafranca de Oria (in Guipuzcoa) and in Arguiñano (in Navarre).