What’s in a name? For a place like the Basque Country, there are several names that jumble together and can be confusing at times. Because the Basque Country is split by the Spanish-French border and, even within Spain, it is split into two different autonomous communities, there are different names that reflect this politically complex and messy situation.

- Euskal Herria literally means the Basque Country, though Herria can take on other meanings like “people” or “nation” so the meaning can be a little vague. Euskal Herria refers to the seven historical Basque provinces: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, and Nafarroa in Hegoalde (literally, the southern part, in Spain) and Lapurdi, Zuberoa, and Nafarroa Beherea in Iparralde (the northern part, in France). The oldest references to Euskal Herria as a concept come from the mid 1500s. Joan Perez de Lazarraga, writing around 1564–1567, called it eusquel erria and eusquel erriau while the phrase Heuscal-Herrian appeared in 1571 in Joanes Leizarraga‘s translation of the Bible.
- In contrast, Euskadi has a narrower meaning, referring specifically to the three provinces that comprise the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC): Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Araba. Nafarroa forms its own autonomous community. Thus, Euskadi and BAC are synonymous. The BAC was formed through the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country in 1979. However, Euskal Herria is also a co-official designation of the BAC, so it does get a little confusing…
- Originally coined by Sabino Arana as Euzkadi, Euskadi is now the accepted form. Arana created Euzkadi as a term in contrast to Euskal Herria which didn’t have the same connotation as the homeland of a Basque people. It always carried a political weight that Euskal Herria did not. It was also originally meant to embody all seven provinces, but with time that has shifted. Euzkadi also became the official name of the autonomous Basque entity created in 1936, but then destroyed by the Spanish Civil War. Bernardo Atxaga has an interesting article about the first time he heard the word Euzkadi and the evolving difference between Euzkadi and Euskadi.
- In all of this, Nafarroa is its own autonomous community within Spain, separate from the BAC.
- In the north, in Iparralde, after the French Revolution, any separate recognition of the Basque provinces as Basque was lost. Today, Iparralde is part of the French Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, which lumps it together with Béarn.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Basque Country (autonomous community), Wikipedia; Basque Country (greater region), Wikipedia