Origin of Saura


This interesting surname is of early medieval French origin, and is a nickname for a person with reddish-brown hair, from the Old French "Sorel", reddish-brown and the Anglo-Norman-French word "sor", chestnut. Other English surnames from this source include Soar, Sorrel, Soar(e)s and Sorrill, while the French surnames include Sor, Saur, Saura, Sorel, Soreau and Saurat. The name was probably introduced to England by the Norman after the Conquest of 1066, as the first recording of the surname dates from the early 12th Century (see below).

Nicknames were given in the first instances with reference to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities and mental and moral characteristics, as well as supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition. Thomas Sorel was recorded in 1175 in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk and William Sorel was mentioned in 1185 in the Records of Templars in England in the 12th Century in Hertfordshire. Anne, daughter of John Sorrell was christened at St. Giles' Cripplegate, London, on July 25th 1568. Coats of Arms were granted to Sorrell families in Waltham and Stebbings in Essex and Ipswich, in Suffolk, which depicts two ermine lions passant, gardant on a red shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Sorell, which was dated 1130, the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk, during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100-1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

As a general rule, most genealogists place the house of Saura among the Goths, although there are still some who take it much further, making it already established in Roman times. Mere conjectures that, since they are not backed by the proper proofs of authenticity, it will be better to dismiss them as non-existent.


There is some author who says that the lineage originates from Menorca, from where it passed to Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia and Cartagena (Murcia). Some of its branches were located in Tortosa (Tarragona), Sagunto (Valencia) and Dolores (Alicante).


Specifying the historical and reliable data, the Saura lineage originates from Catalonia, where already in the 12th century, around the year 1184, there is news of a gentleman named Juan Saura, well known for his bravery, who spent with Armengol, Count Urgel, to the kingdom of Valencia and died fighting fearlessly against the Moors.


At the beginning of the 13th century, around the 1250s, we have Francisco Saura, who militated under the banner of the undefeated King James I of Aragon, in the conquest of the city of Valencia; and in the year 1282, Ramón Saura loyally served King Pedro II, on the trip that this monarch made to the kingdom of Sicily.


In less remote times, we find Don Vicente Francisco Saura y Valcárcel, cadet of the Royal Guards of Corps, of S.M.; Don Pedro de Saura, mayor of the city of Tortosa.


When the Saura Lineage spread to other parts of the Peninsula, it also did so in Murcia, where it had settlements, as is attested by the certification issued by Don Juan Navarro Arbein, notary public of the city of Caravaca, in which he certifies that: "I attest that by the books and service departments of militias and others, which at the present stop among the other papers of the Town Hall of this town, that the good, plain, bib-wearing men who contributed to said effects are written, there is no record of being understood in said books and divisions Mr. Don Juan Saura, a neighbor who was of this town, for being considered and has been a noble son and as such, exempt from said divisions".


Juan Miguel Saura y Morell (Ciudadela 1670 - 1729). Gentleman. Promoter of the uprising in favor of Archduke Carlos of Austria (1706): Carlos III of Aragon. He led the fight against supporters of Felipe de Borbón on the island. Defeated the archduke's supporters with the arrival of the Bourbon reinforcements, he fled to Majorca. When the English occupied Menorca (1708), he returned and was captain and civil governor.

Additional information provided by Mr. Javier Sauras Viñuales (Zaragoza, Spain)


The Saura of Ciutadella in Menorca wear: gold a tree (willow) of their color.


The Menorcan Saura who rebelled against the Bourbons and his brother appeared not as knights, but as: Maidens. The counts of Torresaura, from Ciutadella, were given the last name Olives and had the coat of arms of their lineage, but on said shield they carried two dragons as tenants, because they are the primitive weapons of the Saura.


The Sauras of Huesca, have as their coat of arms: divided into a sash; 1st: the primitive weapons of the lineage, although the dragon faces the sinister side. 2nd, palate of gold and gules. Motto: "Weapons of the Sauras of Urriés". Apparently this branch comes from Languedoc, (Aveyron, Rouverge), from where they came to the crown of Aragon fleeing from the persecutions of the Protestant Huguenots. However, the Sauras of Lower Aragon believe that they come from three brothers of this lineage, who fled from the French Revolution, because the Jacobins wanted to guillotine them. This lineage has the palate coat of arms of gold and gules.


There is an armor stone from the Sauras lineage in Huesca, in the Residence of the Sisters of El Pilar, in the Plaza de Urriés, a stone that comes from a building that was demolished to build this residence and that had an entrance from the street of the Courts.


At the end of the 18th century, the Corregidor of the City of Zaragoza was Don Vicente de Saura, a member of the Royal Academy of Nobles and Fine Arts of San Luis.

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The surname Saura. Genealogy, origin, history, meaning, and significance

The surname Saura around the world

History of Saura

Notable Figures Named Saura

The surname Saura and its bibliographic sources

SOURCES

These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of saura, and at the same time, of surnames in general.

  1. Saera
  2. Sara
  3. Sarra
  4. Saur
  5. Saurau
  6. Saure
  7. Sauri
  8. Sauro
  9. Saury
  10. Scura
  11. Shura
  12. Siura
  13. Skura
  14. Sura
  15. Szura
  16. Saira
  17. Sayra
  18. Sahra
  19. Soura
  20. Saara
  21. Saoura
  22. Sgura
  23. Saar
  24. Saari
  25. Sahara
  26. Sahera
  27. Sahr
  28. Sahri
  29. Saire
  30. Saori
  31. Sar
  32. Sarah
  33. Sarai
  34. Sarao
  35. Saray
  36. Sare
  37. Sari
  38. Saria
  39. Saro
  40. Saroa
  41. Sarr
  42. Sarrai
  43. Sarrau
  44. Sarray
  45. Sarre
  46. Sarrea
  47. Sarri
  48. Sarria
  49. Sarro
  50. Sarry