The Spanish surname Alvarez is a patronymic form of the personal name Álvaro. The personal name Álvaro is originally a Visigoth name of uncertain origin. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Juan Braba Albarez, which was dated March 15th 1548, at Nuestra Snora de la Antigua, Spain . Other examples of the surname recording include Barona Josepe Alvarez, at Valladolid, Spain on March 30th 1594, and Juan Alvares, who married Maria Rodriguez at San Diego, California, on November 11th 1781.  Notable bearers of the surname Alvarez include Ochoa Álvarez de Isásaga  who was born in 1470 in The Basque province of Guipuzkoa in the north of Spain.  Born into one of the oldest houses of nobility in Europe, Isásaga began working for the interests of the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel. He later on rose to the seat of power for the Spanish Empire at a time when Spain was the unrivaled superpower of the world. Ochoa Álvarez de Isásaga died in his home town in 1585 at the age of 85.