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The derivation of Anaya as a Spanish surname from Basque anai "brother" is found in Hanks & Hodges' A Dictionary of Surnames. The -a at the end is the Basque definite article, so I suppose the full translation of the surname is "the brother". According to both Hanks & Hodges and Gutierre Tibon (in Diccionario Etimologico Comparado de los Apellidos Espanoles, Hispanoamericanos y Filipinos) Anaya was used as a male personal name in Spain in the Middle Ages. However, Tibon also says the surname may sometimes be from Arabic al-nahya, "agua estancada." Google translates "agua estancada" as "suspended water", but as that makes no sense to me perhaps it means "standing water". Maybe someone who knows Spanish can clarify that! :)

This message was edited 10/15/2006, 7:05 PM