GERENA

GERENA: The origin of this surname is located in a small village named Mallabia, this village is located in the west of Bizkaia, just in the Border with Gipuzkoa, very close to Ermua (Bizkaia) and Eibar (Gipuzkoa), In Mallabia there is a quarter named GERENA (in Spanish Guerena), and on this quarter there are seven houses with the names

Gerena Aurtena

Gerena beinakoa

Gerena beinakoa

Gerena Goena

Gerena urizar

Gerena Zelaieta

Gerena Ibarra

In 1704 there were only four houses with the name Gerena. Probably your surname was longer in the past, because today exists the surname Gerenabarrena, and in the XVIII exist the surnames Gerena-goena, and Gerena-urizar, basque surnames are usualy names of houses, because basque families used the name of their house as family name. Today the only surnames that exist are Gerena, and Gerenabarrena

The meaning of Gerena can be: The rock, or also can be Path between rocks, it all depends if the origin was GEREN+A, or GEREN+DA in any case the word Geren doesn't means today rock or is not used. There are other authors that thoughts that Guerea was an old name, because the sufix NA means :The one of so they propose the house of Guerea (I have never read about this strange name, so I don't believe in that thesis). Coat of arms: En plata, dos lobos andantes de azur, lampasados de gules y puestos uno sobre otro. Bordura general de gules, con cuatro estrellas de oro, una en cada centro

There is a village in Spain (province of Seville) with the name Gerena, I don't know the origin of the village's name, and also can be that this some Gerena surnames would be refered to the spanish village, and not to the Basque surname Gerena or Guerena

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