Amaya (Spanish-language name)

Amaya is a given name and surname of Spanish origins, derived from the village of Amaya and its neighboring mountain in Castile and León, Spain.^[1] The name of the village, in turn, has Indo-European roots ^[2] and means "am (ma)" or "mother". The suffix io-ia is also used to form action names or toponyms, implying that the meaning of Amaya or Amaia is "mother city", as it will be called later, "the capital".^[3] Other hypothesis is that the name derived from the Proto-Basque or Basque word Amaia, meaning "the end".^[4][1] Variations include Amaia, Amayah, Ammaya, and Amya.

Amaya was one of the main villages of the Cantabri Celtic tribes, and played a key role in the Cantabrian wars during the Roman conquest of Hispania, and later, during the Visigothic Kingdom, as the capital of the Duchy of Cantabria. In the first stages of the Reconquista, the city was part of the repopulating efforts of the Kingdom of Asturias in the border region of Bardulia, the primitive territories of Castile.

A Japanese surname Amaya of unrelated origin also exists, "usually written with characters meaning 'heavenly valley'".^[1]

People with the name Amaya, as derived from its Spanish origin, include:

Given name[]

Amaya[]

• Amaya Alonso (born 1989), Spanish swimmer
• Amaya Arzuaga (born 1970), Spanish fashion designer
• Amaya Coppens (born 1994) Nicaraguan student activist
• Amaya Forch (born 1972), Chilean actress and pop singer
• Amaya Garbayo (born 1970), Spanish swimmer
• Amaya Gastaminza (born 1991), Spanish basketball player
• Maja Keuc (born 1992), Slovenian singer known as Amaya
• Amaya Salazar (born 1951), Dominican artist
• Amaya Uranga (born 1947), Spanish singer
• Amaya Valdemoro (born 1976), Spanish basketball player

Amaia[]

• Amaia Andrés (born 1966), Spanish middle-distance runner
• Amaia Erbina (born 1997), Spanish rugby sevens player
• Amaia González de Garibay (born 1994), Spanish handball player
• Amaia Montero (born 1976), Spanish Basque singer/songwriter, formerly part of the Spanish pop-band La Oreja de Van Gogh
• Amaia Olabarrieta (born 1982), Spanish football player
• Amaia Piedra (born 1972), Spanish athlete who specialized in long-distance running
• Amaia Romero (born 1999), Spanish singer, representing Spain in Eurovision Song Contest 2018 as a duo Amaia y Alfred
• Amaia Salamanca (born 1986), Spanish actress

Surname[]

• Alejandro Amaya (born 1977), Mexican matador
• Andrés Amaya (c. 1645 - 1704), Spanish Baroque painter
• Antonio Amaya (born 1983), Spanish footballer
• Ariel Amaya, Argentine footballer
• Ashraf Amaya (born 1971), American basketball player
• Carmen Amaya (1918–1963), Romani-Spanish dancer and singer
• Ezequiel Guillermo Jesús Amaya (born 1978), Argentine footballer
• (born 1988), Salvadoran footballer
• Irma Amaya (born 1961), Salvadoran guerrilla fighter and politician
• Iván Amaya (born 1978), Spanish footballer
• Jaime Prieto Amaya (1941–2010), Colombian Catholic bishop
• Jesús Álvarez Amaya (1925–2010), Mexican artist
• Jesús Amaya (born 1969), Colombian golfer
• Jonathon Amaya (born 1988), American football player
• José Alexander Amaya (born 1975), Salvadoran footballer
• José Amaya (born 1980), Colombian footballer
• María de Lourdes Amaya (born 1980), Mexican politician
• Mario Amaya (1933–1986), American art critic
• Miguel Alberto Amaya (born 1964), Argentine footballer
• Rafael Amaya (born 1977), Mexican model, singer, and actor
• Rafael Amaya (soccer) (born 1965), Colombian-American footballer
• Raul Amaya (born 1986), American mixed martial artist
• Remedios Amaya (born 1962), Spanish singer
• Rufina Amaya (1943–2007), Salvadoran attack survivor
• Victor Amaya (born 1954), American tennis player

References[]

Name list

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