This Spanish surname of ALARCON was a habitation name from places so called in the provinces of Cuenca and Cordoba. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land. 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. A notable member of the name was Juan Ruiz de ALARCON (c.l580-l639) Spanish dramatist, born of a good family in Mexico. A lawyer, he became member of the Council of the Indies in Madrid in l626. He was neglected for generations but has now been restored to his real rank as a leading playwright of the Golden Age of Spanish drama. 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. Pedro Antonio de ALARCON (l833-l89l) was a Spanish writer, born in Guadic. He served with distinction in the African campaign of l859-l860 and became a radical journalist. At the Restoration in l874, however, he became a conservative and served as Minister to Stockholm, and councillor of State. He published a war diary travel notes and poems but is best known for his novels, particularly "Sombrero de tres picos" l874 on which a ballet was based. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Rietstaps Armorial General. Registered in Spain.