Origin of Soeiro

This famous Iberian surname recorded in the spellings of Soeiro, Suero, Suarez, Soares, Juarez Juara, de Juara, and Juares, is curiously, like many Spanish and Portuguese surnames, of German origins. It originates from a time in the 5th century a.d. when the fierce tribes known as the Vizigoths swept down from Northern Germany. and destroyed the Roman Empire, of which Spain was a part. The Vizigoths in their turn occupied Spain for several centuries, before being driven out. They left many reminders of their 'visit' of which the most enduring has been the many surnames such as Gonzales and Ramirez, to name just two popular examples.

In this case the name was originally of two elements believed to have been 'sur' meaning south and 'hari' - army. Whether this means that people who held this name were originally of the 'Army of the South' is unclear, but this seems a reasonable explanation. The surname itself is medieval, few surnames as such existing before this time. Examples of the recordings taken from authentic registers include Hernando Juarez, at Nuestra Senora de la Antigua, Valladolid, on November 24th 1556, and Eusebia Suarez, christened at Valdecaballeros, Badajos, Spain, on March 30th 1616. Pedro de Juara married Juana Ponse at Santa Maria Magdalena, Valladolid, on March 1st 1671, and Carvayo Juares was christened at Aguilar de Campos, Valladolid, on May 23rd 1752. The coat of arms has the blazon of per pale, blue and red, a red border charged with a semee of silver saltires. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Isabel de Figueroa Suarez, which was dated December 14th 1532, christened at Belacazaro, Ciudad, Spain, during the reign of King Charles 1st of Spain, Emperor of Mexico, 1516 - 1556. 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.