Names of the Basque Country (in Spanish)

In the Spanish public discourse the territory traditionally inhabited by the Basques was assigned a variety of names across the centuries. Terms used might have been almost identical, with hardly noticeable difference in content and connotation, or they could have varied enormously, also when consciously used one against another. The names used demonstrate changing perceptions of the area and until today the nomenclature employed could be battleground between partisans of different options.

The below list contains names applied in Spanish cultural realm to the territory traditionally inhabited by the Basques. Terms originating from other languages (first of all Basque, though also Latin) are acknowledged if in circulation also in Spanish. The list contains indisputably proper names (e.g. "Provincias Vascongadas"), names with unclear or varying usage (e.g. "Provincias Exentas" or "provincias exentas") and names which have never acquired the status of a proper name, though they might have been intended to (e.g. "provincias hermanas"). Names differing only in terms of orthography are grouped under one heading. Non-Spanish names which barely made it to the Spanish cultural discourse (e.g. "Hirurak bat", "Zazpiak Bat", ) are not listed.

The term used occasionally in official and semi-official prints until the mid-19th century, usually with vague geographical denomination; when detailed, it could have referred to Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa or to Álava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Navarre. The name contained no ethnic or cultural flavor related to the Basque realm. It started to get out of circulation when applied to Basque territories in the early 19th century, with increasing usage focused on Santander and the adjacent area; the was originally to be named Cantabria. In public usage the term was already firmly related to Santander when the Basque nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century. Today "Cantabria" is official name of the autonomous community centered upon Santander; also in unofficial circulation the term is used likewise, with application to Álava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa and/or Navarre only in historical discourse.

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