This is a popular Spanish surname, and perhaps not surprisingly as it is habitational for one who lived by the Iglesia (village church) or who came from the town of Iglesias. Locational surnames are the most usual forms in Europe, for the simple reason that the early landowners were known as" William de Normandy" or as maybe appropriate, and this terminology formed the basis of the future surname. Unfortunately very early Spanish records are at best erratic and at worst non existent, however we have been able to find 17th century examples and also to identify the Coat of Arms. The blazon of the arms is - Per pale, first quarter red charged with a church and steeple proper, the second quarter is gold, charged with a red cross. The surname is found throughout Spain but seems to be particularly well recorded in Gerona, Valladolid, and Vizcaya. Examples of the name recordings include Catalina Yglesis who married Francisco Puertas at Valladolid on October 26th 1661, Pablo Yglesias, born at Asuncion, Districto Federal, Mexico, on March 27th 1748, and Carlos Iglesia, son of Juan Pampin Iglesia, christened at Santiago de Compestella, La Corunna, on November 23rd 1901. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Antonio Seusdedos Iglesia which was dated July 17th 1616, who married Josepha Pesadas at San Nicholas de Bari, 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.

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