de Sein (de Seyn)
Los de este apellido, que significa niño, tuvieron su casa solar en el valle de Oyarzun, del partido de San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa). Francisco Antonio Sein probó su hidalguía en el mismo Valle, en 1756; Manuel, Francisco, y Salvador Sein, en Fuenterrabía, en 1773, e Ignacio Sein, en el misma cuidad, en 1749.
From the "Diccionario de Apellidos"
Translation by Lawrence T. Sein, Ph.D.: "Those of this surname [Sein], which means child in Basque, established their home in the valley of Oyarzun [now Oyartzun], in the district of San Sebastian, in the province of Guipuzcoa. Francisco Antonio Sein proved his nobility in the this same valley in 1756; Manuel, Francsisco, and Salvador Sein proved theirs in Fuenterrabia in 1773, and Ignacio Sein in Fuenterrabia in 1749.
Notes: Oyartzun is a small town in Northern Spain, near the popular resort city of San Sebastian, known as Donastia in Basque. The inhabitants of the area (Basques) are of different ethnic background than the Castillian Spaniards, and speak a language, Basque, which is not descended from Latin, and not even Indo-European. The Seins belonged to the class known as hidalgos - literally, hijos de algos, children of somebodies. The hidalgos formed the lowest and most numerous class of the Spanish nobility. Civil courts would hear cases involving the fradulent acquisition of titles of nobility, therefore, the references to the proofs of nobility in court on specific dates. False allegations of fradulent acquisition of titles of nobility were also actionable in Spanish courts. Note that the Sein family coat of arms (drawn above by L.T. Sein) features a child in the doorway of the castle. Since the Basque word for child is "Sein", the coat of arms features a visual "pun". These types of coat of arms is called armas parlantes in Spanish - talking arms.
© 2004-2010 by Lawrence T. Sein. All rights reserved.
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