<P> Salazar is a Basque surname meaning old hall (from Castilian Sala (hall) and Basque zahar (old)). The name originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile . Although nowadays northern Burgos is not a Basque - speaking region, it was during the early Middle Ages when the surname appeared . </P> <P> Its origins are also related to a certain noble family, the Salazars, that held a fief in the area . During the 10th century, the surname appears as mentioned in Navarre, where it spread and there even exists a Salazar Valley . It later also spread to the rest of the Basque Country, being specially common in Biscay during the 15th century . During that time, Lope García de Salazar, a famous writer, took part in the Reconquista of Cuenca, where he was granted a fief and founded a notable family . Some of his descendants took part in the Conquest of America, thus spreading the surname all through the Spanish Americas; others intermarried many noble families, and the surname spread all through the Iberian peninsula . </P>

What is the meaning of the last name salazar