Zavala surname meaning

Zavala is a Basque surname, also written Zabala, from zabal, “wide,” “broad,” or “open.” It began as a topographic or habitational name for someone living at or coming from a broad plain, open field, or place called Zabala. Spanish-language records often changed b to v, making Zavala especially common in the Americas. Zaballa and other spellings reflect regional orthography rather than a guaranteed separate lineage. The catalog uses place with high confidence because the landscape and place-name route is stable, while avoiding a claim that every Zavala family came from one noble house or one Basque locality.