Urraca (also spelled Hurraca, Urracha and Hurracka in medieval Latin) is a female first name.

In modern Spanish, the word "urraca" means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin furax, meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect shiny items.

Onomastic analysis however suggests that the name Urraca is of Basque origin, and bears a meaning different from magpie. In the Basque language, Urraca means "Golden", from Urre- (gold) and -ako(a) (of/from). The Basque word "urre(a)" itself appears to be a borrowing either from the celtic word or (or orr/aur), or from its Latin cognate aureum, both of which mean gold, so that the name "Urraca" would be a calque of the more usual Latin names of Auria or Oria, both derived aurum and meaning "golden" as well.

  • Jaime de Salazar y Acha. 2006. . En la España medieval, 29 (Extra 1), 29–48. Also published in Estudios de genealogía, heráldica y nobiliaria, ed. Miguel Angel Laredo Quesada, 29–48 (ISBN84-95215-29-2).

Disambiguation

Urraca may also refer to:

  • Urraca Mesa, a mesa in northern New Mexico on the property of Philmont Scout Ranch, which is the most lightning-struck place in the state and has religious significance to a number of local indigenous tribes
  • Urracá, indigenous freedom fighter of colonial Panama
  • Urracá, Panama, a corregimiento in Panama
  • Urraca, a planned, but cancelled, very high altitude (above 1000 kilometers) nuclear test in the Operation Fishbowl series in 1962.