Recorded in several spellings including de Salazar, Salazar and Salasar, this famous surname is locational and aristocratic. It derives from various places called 'Salazar', both in the Basque country, and in the province of Burgos, in Spain. It is equally well recorded in both Portugal, and in its various spellings, throughout South America and Mexico. The name is pre 7th century a.d., and means 'The old hall', from 'sala', a hall and 'zahar' - old. The early recordings are all prefixed with the preposition 'de' implying land and estate ownership, but as in most similar surnames, this prefix seems to have been lost, particularly amongst recordings from 'the New World'. Examples of these recordings include Viveros Salazar, in the town of Concepcion, Mexico, on July 13th 1794, and Luis Salazar, who on June 24th 1844 married Maria Jacoba Felix, at Mission San Fernando, Los Angeles, California. The coat of arms granted in Spain has the blazon of a red field charged with a tower proper, inside a semee of gold stars. This suggests that the nameholders were owners of significant property, and were financially sound. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ana de Salasar, which was dated July 4th 1604, christened at Santa Maria Magdalena, Valladolid, Spain, during the reign of King Phillip 111 of Spain, Emperor of Mexico, 1598 - 1621. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.