Asturies etymology:

ÁSTURES;

Locate in the Nort-west of Spain; perhaps this people came of Istros River and the Styria zone, in Austria; Istros River is the alternative name for the Danube river.

About the 'Asturias or Asturies' name was said several hypothesis:

Obviously, there are those who propose it a Basque origin, Humboldt that he interprets for that language in a compound of the type AITZ-URA ' water that appears between the rocks '. Another explanation AS-T-UR-IAS would go to understanding it as 'rich region in torrents of mountain' (Dolç 102 p.25). The kinship with the Basque is more suggestive since there exist words that guard a certain phonic kinship, 'asto = jackass', 'astorki = sainfoin’ that alive in determine surnames.

Also relate it to the Latin ASTRUM, or ASTUR 'falcon' or AST(H) 'hard'.

Till now the most convincing relate the river ASTURA (the Esla) to that of the ástures, primitive inhabitants of his banks up to the Roman domination, the name ástures was including in an alone people those of the level land but also to the people, similar of the north side in everything to those of the south. One is in the habit of indicating that the word ÁSTURA might be pre-Indo-European, in relation with the hydro-names and understandable chance with the Basque, where ASTA 'crag' and URA 'waters down'. The reference to the water seems to be reasonable not only for the first allusion to the Esla, but for surviving the term in Rebaste 'the river Asta' (affluent that goes down Valdediós, in Villaviciosa) and in Astuera name of a creek and hamlet in Colunga's council. The same hydro-name ÁSTURA receives documents as 'stole' in Asturies's east in a document of 1147 to refer, probably to the same river Sella whom the Romans would call in his language with a simple appellative FLUVIUM. Is observed that it is a question of a graphical expression similar to the one that appears for the L.lionés Esla.

Well then, it seems that the "Astura", which in the medieval documentation was nominated "Estura" or "Estula", might come from a Celtic root "-stour", that means river. The above mentioned toponym appears in Britania, where Plinio speaks about the "stur" and nowadays there exist three rivers "Stour" in Kent, Suffolk and Dorset. In the Piedmont there is located the tribe of the Celtic "Esturi" and a river "Stura". In the river mouth of the Elba, there is another river "Stör", named former "Sturia". In the medieval Asturies a "Stora" receives documents and at present there is a river "Astuera" in Colunga. Also in the Breton and in the current Gael there exists the word ("Ster" and Stour ", respectively) with the meaning river.

As curiosities:

ÁSTURES's name is the person in charge of whom the Romans were naming to the principal southern nucleus of Asturica Augusta wherefrom Astorga's name originated. This toponym demonstrates the brief quantity of "u" Latin and gives us to understand that Asturies's expression is a semi-cultism. In the same way the name Asturianos that it appears in the toponym of some repopulated territories, probably, for people of Asturies Como is the case of Asturianos, in Palencia, Estorâos (two parishes and a place in Portugal), Asturianos (in Senabria, in document of 977), Asturienses (in Ourense).

La Fuente les Istodias, in L.lena's minor toponym, believes that a popular result of the pre-Roman voice might represent ASTURIAS.

' Villa Asturianos' (in year 952), 'S. Thomas de Asturanos' (year 1220).

' Sancti Iohannis de Stola ' (CDMSVO) he was know as Santianes of the Water where, it gives the impression, that water replaces or translates to medieval 'stole' or, what it is the same thing, to the pre-Roman ÁSTURA.

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