 The name Aran comes from Basque "haran", meaning valley.Maps and road signs in Spain use the name "era Val d'Aran" to refer to the valley, where "era" is the Aranese singular feminine article.The same practice goes for all towns and other locations in Aran, for example, the Aranese spelling "Vielha" is used instead of Catalan and Spanish "Viella" to refer to the capital of Aran.