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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Spanish : either a variant of a regional name from the province or region of La Rioja, or a habitational name from Rioja in Almeria province. The region is named for the river Oja, which flows through it; the Spanish word río ‘river’ has become fused with the river name, which is first recorded in the form Ol(i)a; it may possibly be derived from Latin folia ‘leaves’.

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