Soria - Name

Name

It is claimed that in Roman times there was a castle called Oria, purportedly named after a Greek knight called Doricus. Based on this folk etymology, some historians guessed that the first inhabitants of this city might have been the Dorians. Archaeology has not confirmed that story. Instead it has suggested that the first inhabitants were the Suebi, whose kings (as reported by Tutor and Malo in their Compedio historial de las dos Numancias) established one of their courts in Soria. These two hypotheses have been abandoned because of lack of evidence. It seems more likely that the name Soria may have its origin in the word dauria from the river Durius (Duero).