Where does “Alvarez” come from?
Álvarez is a Spanish surname derived from the patronymic suffix -ez, which comes from Latin -ities, itself from Latin -itia, continuing Latin -ia and Ancient Greek -ία, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -h₂.
Ancestry of “Alvarez”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | Álvarez | — |
| 2 | Spanish | -ez | A suffix forming many Spanish surnames; A suffix... |
| 3 | Latin | -ities | Alternative form of -iēs |
| 4 | Latin | -itia | -ness, -ity |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |