Although in my recent works I have always signed as "Alberto Saa",
or simply "A. Saa", some of my earlier papers were signed as "A.V.
Saa". I have been cited also in the literature as "A. Saa-Vazquez",
with virtually all possible and impossible accentuations. If the hyphen
is missing, my name is usually abbreviated to "A.S. Vazquez" or "A.
Vazquez", and in both cases it is almost impossible to reach me.
The origin of the Saa surname is rather obscure. It is not an uncommon surname in Galicia, but it is not indeed very frequent. In the northern galician province of Lugo, from where my family comes, there are several villages called Saa. This word is probably derived from "Sala", which means "room" or "hall" in many modern latin languages. "Sala" is also a common surname in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese languages. However, it is not a true latin word, it indeed has germanic origin. ("Saal", with the same meaning. Incidentally, there are also some villages and cities called Saal in Germany.) In the transition from the vulgar latin to the Galician language, it is quite common that a "L" between two vowels disappears, so "Saa" would originate from "Sala" in the same way that "voar" does from "volare" (to fly) and "voo" from "volo" (flight), despite of not being an actual latin word. The "correct" pronunciation should be with the tonic in the first "a", exactly as in the case of "Sala". However, this is not easy for non-native speakers and probably due to this, the Castilian pronunciation with the tonic in the last "a" has spread around the world. On the other hand, my second surname is quite common in Galicia and Spain, and its origin is well known.
My surname was corrupted many times in Brazil due to some "translations" into portuguese language. "Sa", "Vasques", and "Vasquez", again with some distinct accentuations, were the variations I could identify. I was also cited as "A. Sa" and "A.V. Sa".
The origin of the Saa surname is rather obscure. It is not an uncommon surname in Galicia, but it is not indeed very frequent. In the northern galician province of Lugo, from where my family comes, there are several villages called Saa. This word is probably derived from "Sala", which means "room" or "hall" in many modern latin languages. "Sala" is also a common surname in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese languages. However, it is not a true latin word, it indeed has germanic origin. ("Saal", with the same meaning. Incidentally, there are also some villages and cities called Saal in Germany.) In the transition from the vulgar latin to the Galician language, it is quite common that a "L" between two vowels disappears, so "Saa" would originate from "Sala" in the same way that "voar" does from "volare" (to fly) and "voo" from "volo" (flight), despite of not being an actual latin word. The "correct" pronunciation should be with the tonic in the first "a", exactly as in the case of "Sala". However, this is not easy for non-native speakers and probably due to this, the Castilian pronunciation with the tonic in the last "a" has spread around the world. On the other hand, my second surname is quite common in Galicia and Spain, and its origin is well known.
My surname was corrupted many times in Brazil due to some "translations" into portuguese language. "Sa", "Vasques", and "Vasquez", again with some distinct accentuations, were the variations I could identify. I was also cited as "A. Sa" and "A.V. Sa".