Banda Family History

Spanish: habitational name from any of various places called with banda probably in the sense ‘side edge part’. The name is found especially in southwestern Spain. Slovak, Czech, and Polish: nickname for a member of a banda ‘band gang’ colloquially also ‘gipsy music band’. Serbian and Croatian: nickname from banda ‘band gang’ denoting a bandit-turned border guard.

Hungarian: possibly from the old personal name Bán (see Ban) or an adoption of the Croatian name (see above). West Frisian: elaboration with -a of Band Compare Banta. Jewish (from Poland): metonymic occupational name from Polish banda ‘ribbon’.

African: probably from the Bantu word banda denoting a type of large ant used as a totemic name and subsequently as a surname in various southeastern African countries (e.g. Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia).