This Spanish surname of ACUNA was of the locational group of surnames meaning 'one who lived on a homestead of one acre, a piece of arable land that a yoke of oxen could plough in one day. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. In Spain identifying patronymics are to be found as early as the mid-9th century, but these changed with each generation, and hereditary surnames seem to have come in slightly later in Spain than in England and France. As well as the names of the traditional major saints of the Christian Church, many of the most common Spanish surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. For the most part these names are characteristically Hispanic. They derive from the language of the Visigoths, who controlled Spain between the mid-5th and early 8th centuries. A notable member of this name was Hernando de ACUNA (c.l520-l580) Spanish poet, soldier and diplomat of Portugese extraction who wrote in Spanish. He put into verse, under the title EL CABALLERO DETERMINADO, a translation by Charles V of a French romance. Other poems, Italian in style, were published in l59l by his widow. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Rietstaps Armorial General. Registered in Spain. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.