More and more often, Basque-American parents are choosing names for their babies that reflect their unique ethnicity. Among the more popular Basque names for boys are Xabier, Aitor and Mikel and for girls, some of the top choices are Amaia, Maialen and Maite.

This popularity has led Amazon to sell an e-book with over 60 pages of Basque names, which include the meaning of the names.

The baby names are in Euskera, the language of the Basque Country in France and Spain. The language dates back to prehistoric times and has no known linguistic relatives.

To research your family name, see our page with links to official records in the Basque Country.

Top 10 favorite Basque names:

BOYS:

Aitor – name of a legendary ancestor of the Basques; possible reference to good father (aita)

Ander – Basque form of Andrew, which refers to man, or manly.

Andoni, Antton – Basque version of Anthony, which originally was a Roman family name

From Amazon

Asier – the beginning

Eneko – possibly “mine”; ene = mine, ko = diminutive suffix.

Gorka – Basque version of George, a Greek name meaning farmer, earthworker

Iñigo, Iñaki – Iñigo and Iñaki, a version of Iñigo, come from San Ignacio of Loyola, whose given name was Iñigo. Iñigo is also the name of the first king of Pamplona

Koldo – Basque version of Louis, the French form of Ludovicus.

Mattin – Basque version of Martin, originally a Roman name

Xabier – honors the surname of the famous Basque saint Francis Xabier. Originally from the place name Etxeberri, meaning “new house.”

A comprehensive list of men’s names from the Basque Language Academy (Euskaltzaindia)

READ MORE EUSKAL KAZETA ARTICLES

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GIRLS:

Amaia – the end

Ane – Basque form of Ana

Arantxa – nickname for Arantzazu, reference to the town with a sanctuary of the Virgin Mary. Also refers to arantza, thornberry

Edurne – snow

Josune – feminine version of Josu, meaning Jesus

Maialen – Basque version of Magdalene, a reference to Mary Magdalene

Maite – lovable

Miren – Basque version of Maria

Nekane – sorrows; Basque version of Dolores

Oihane – forest

A comprehensive list of women’s names from the Basque Language Academy (Euskaltzaindia)

In the Basque Country, a 2016 report notes that the most popular girls names were Ane, June and Irati. For boys, the most popular names were Markel, Jon and Ander.

READ MORE EUSKAL KAZETA ARTICLES

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