Where does the name Aragon come from? We tell you its origin and etymology

Aragon has many nicknames: the land of jotas, of giants, of culture and, one of the most recent, the “Land of all”. Our community is like a watchful guardian who has seen us born, grow up and become the people we are today. It knows everything about us. But do we know everything about it?

For many, this may be a rhetorical question, and the truth is that Aragon holds so many secrets that, possibly, a lifetime would not be enough to unravel them all. However, the passage of time has shed more and more light on aspects of Aragonese culture, history and heritage.

And, precisely, in this article we are going to talk about another little piece of great importance that reflects Aragon: the origin of its name. Where does this word come from? How did it evolve to become its name? In these following lines, we will try to decipher this enigmatic etymological secret.

THE ROOTS OF THE NAME

This is a complicated question, as we are talking about the name of a land that has been constantly evolving thanks to the influence of cultures such as the Iberians, the Celts, the Romans and the Arabs. Consequently, all of them have participated in the toponymic derivation of Aragon.

However, thanks to etymology, that is, the science that studies the meaning and origin of words, several theories have been formulated about the birth of this name. The most popular theory accepted by researchers is that the linguistic origin of “Aragon” would come from the Celts.

This is because in the ancient Celtiberian language there are the roots “ara-“, “ar-“ and “aar-“, which were used to talk about bodies with water courses, such as rivers. This clears up the mystery of the name of Aragon somewhat, and it is that the roots would form the word “arga”, which was used to designate rivers.

In this case, the name of the Aragón River and, consequently, of the autonomous community would come from there. The Aragón River is born and irrigates the community and is the most important river in the Pyrenees area, which also fits with the name of some Spanish towns that are located next to rivers and are found in adjacent communities. Such is the case of La Puebla de Arganzón (Castilla y León), for example, a territory that was also inhabited by Celtiberians. In addition, in this field, the Aragón Subordán of the Sierra Bernera (Huesca) or, even, the Ara River of Boltaña would also appear with the same root.

Evolution and appearance of the name of Aragon

As we have mentioned before, the roots “ar” and “ara” are possibly the closest to the word “Aragón”, which could derive from the term “Arago”. Finally, with the arrival of the Romans and Latin, it would have evolved into “Aragus Flumen”, and with the influence of Castilian in the Christian Reconquista, the definitive term that we all know would appear.

According to historical records, it is difficult to give a completely precise answer, since the name Aragon is probably one of the oldest names of communities or kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula. The monastery of San Juan de la Peña, located in Huesca, has in its archives a document dated 828 AD, which is, to date, the oldest document in which the word “Aragon” appears.

The document mentions King García Jiménez of Pamplona and Count Galindo of Aragon, who made a donation to the monastery. Among its details, the term “comite Galindone de Aragon” appears, so we are talking about the name of Aragon having existed officially since the 9th century.

In this way, we can shed some light on the great mystery that the name Aragon represents. Every corner of the community holds echoes of ancient cultures, which have left a mark that lasts until our time and which we, sometimes, do not stop to notice. Today, Aragon remains a vibrant place, full of history, culture and pride. And knowing its origins is to remember that, although time passes, our connection with this land endures, like a river that never stops flowing.