This interesting surname is today considered to be Spanish, although strangely it's origins are believed to be early German 5th Century. This is probable, because from the 5th to the 8th Century A.D., the Huns and Goths occupied the Iberian Peninsula. However,most early German names were Romanic derivatives and in this case the original meaning is believed to be either "Farmer" from the Latin "Aro", to plough or till, or "Skill" from the Latin "Ars", as applied to one who was a teacher or solicitor, or the like. The modern spelling forms are Arias, Ares and Aires, the Coat of Arms of Arias of Spain (Zamora) being per pale silver and red, charged with a tower, a griffon and a cross, in the dexter a gold bend, all within a border decorated with an orle of towers. The name recordings include; Ana Arias, who married Pedro Fernandez at Valladolid, on November 8th 1648, and Juan de Arias, father of Fernandez Arias, christened at San Juan Baitista, Pozo-Canada, Albacete, on August 24th 1800. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Bernaldino Arias, which was dated December 13th 1568, a witness at Valladolid, Spain, during the reign of King Philip 11 of Spain, 1556 - 1598. 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.