A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Zarate family of Spain.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“De gu. à neuf panelles d'arg., 3, 3 et 3, les tiges en haut.”
The Zarate arms were recorded in Andalusia, c. 1722.
Andalusia was the last part of Spain taken back from the Moors, and the land was shared out among the men who took it. A grant of land came with a grant of arms, so the region produced a great many.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Spain in this period.
Reigning in Spain when the Zarate arms are first recorded.
In Spain, a coat of arms was considered a form of property that belonged to the entire family line. These arms were passed down from a father to all his children equally. Younger branches of the family usually kept the original design without needing to add any special marks to distinguish their specific line.
The surname Zárate originates from the Basque region of northern Spain, specifically from a small town of the same name in the province of Álava. The name itself is derived from the Basque words "zara," meaning thicket or brush, and "ate," meaning a mountain pass or gate. This suggests that the earliest ancestors of the family likely lived near a prominent, brush-covered passage in the mountainous landscape. Over the centuries, members of the family migrated from these northern highlands toward the southern regions of the country. By 1722, historical records confirm that the family had established a firm presence in Andalusia. This migration was common during the expansion of the Spanish kingdoms, as families moved to take advantage of new agricultural opportunities and administrative roles in the southern territories.
Basque term referring to old or ancient.
