Zabaleta

Zavaleta (or Zabaleta) is a surname of Basque origin. The Basque are a people indigenous to areas of northern Spain and southern France, an historical region known as Basque Country.

It is difficult to uncover the original meaning of a surname like Zavaleta because of its considerable antiquity. Still many believe, and as sources say, the last name means "the people who lived by the mountain place."