Is ALEMAN a Canary Islanders surname? - Canary Islanders Heritage Society Discussion Board

Alexa · Newbie

Is ALEMAN a Canary Islanders surname?

Red Hat Cajun · Newbie

I also have the Alleman name in my genelogy, also Carbo, Medine,
Gonzales and Rodriguez and Falcon
you may e-mail me at annie@atvci.net

falcanary · Member

In the early 400s, the Visigoths, which included the Germanic Suebi people, took control of the Iberian penisula (today Spain). They stayed there until 711 when Iberia was taken over by the muslim Moors. The Roman (Latin) name for the Visigoths in the area were the Alemany or Alleman.

The origin of Alemán (or Alemany) dates to the seventh century, when Germans, or Visigoths, lived in the Iberian Peninsula. The surname means "German" in Spanish. Most Alemán families living in the U.S. today have roots in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba or the Dominican Republic. Family records have been identified in the Dominican Republic and church records exist in California.

California records for 1877 list Bernardo Alemany as the late husband of Ysabel Villanueva; she later married José María Ybarra. Julián Alemania, 36, was living in Santa Barbara in 1834.

In La Fourche, Louisiana, in 1788, Juan de Alemán, 60, and his wife, Juana Ramilles, 45, were living along the Mississippi River with their children, Sebastian, Pedro and María. Also living there in 1798 were Francisco Alemán, 47, his wife, Tomasa, 48, and their children, Juan, Bastian, and Antonio. Source: Instituto Genealógico e Histórico Latinoamericano. (http://www.hispaniconline.com/res&res/names/a.html)

Hope this helps
WF

Alexa · Newbie

My Aleman and Alleman ancestors came directly from the Canary Islands in the 1700s to Louisiana, with no stops in between, I'm told. So I was wondering about the "German connection" of the names, rather than Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican ties.

So I'll look more indepth into the Visigoths. Thanks for the history lesson and the info on the Germans.

By the way, falcanary, your link no longer works, although I did find the main url for that organization.

-- Edited by Alexa at 16:26, 2008-10-28

-- Edited by Alexa at 16:27, 2008-10-28

-- Edited by Alexa at 16:28, 2008-10-28

falcanary · Member

'Aleman (also spelled Alleman, Allemand, Aléman, Allamont, Allemagne', Alemaye' and Alemán) is a European surname deriving from the Latin surname, Alemannus, which refers to someone of German descent, specifically from the Alamanni tribe. The name may have been in reference to the Norman region of Allemagne, to the south of Caen. ^[1] Literally meaning "All Men", the name in French is Allemand, in Spanish, the term is Alemán, the Catalan term is Alemany, and the Portuguese term is Alemão. ^[2] The Alemannic tribe, along with the Goths, overran the part of the German Empire that lay along the Rhine river. Given that the women dressed and fought like men, the Germans said, See there are no women among them. They are all men, ^[3]. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleman_(surname))

I believe the surname Martin and all it's derivatives have the same history. Having the German "barbarian" tribes move down through France and then into Iberia (Spain) after the fall of Roman Empire, serves a good reason why both names are popular in French, Spanish, and Portugese culture.

Hope this helps.

Alexa · Newbie

Thanks for the history of the Aleman-Allemand-Alleman-etc. surnames. I knew they were all descended from the same group from my research, I just hadn't searched far enough back to figure where they originated. I figured they had Germanic roots from the meaning of the surnames, "German".

As with most others doing genealogical research, I had to buck family beliefs all the way ("They were Spanish, from Spain") when searching for the facts. I know they still don't believe that some of our "French" ancestors were Germans, and they aren't buying that many "Spanish" relatives were also Germans, in addition to the Basques I've found, too, not to mention a Portuguese or two thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for your assistance.