One of the demonyms considered most complex to pronounce is 'urgellenc/a' (urgelense in Spanish), which refers to the residents of La Seu d'Urgell (in the comarca of Alt Urgell, Lleida). Also in the province of Lleida, the inhabitants of Tàrrega, capital of Urgell, are known as 'targarins/inas', a name likely derived from the Arabic 'at-tariga' (crossing place).
In the province of Tarragona, the inhabitants of Torredembarra (in Tarragonès) are called 'torrencs' or 'torrenques', a name that comes from the Torre d'en Barra, an ancient feudal defense tower. But perhaps the most popular is that of Reus (in Baix Camp), where its inhabitants, besides 'reusencs', are popularly known as 'ganxets'.
Catalonia's linguistic richness is also reflected in the names of its towns and, consequently, in their demonyms, many of which have medieval, Arabic, or pre-Roman origins.
The origin of 'ganxets' is uncertain, but a popular legend collected in Catalan paremiology texts explains that, during the inauguration of the Gothic bell tower of Reus, a donkey was hung from a hook (ganxo) to admire the work. Another surprising demonym is 'egarenc' or 'egarense' for the inhabitants of Terrassa (in Vallès Occidental), which comes from the ancient Egara, the Roman Hispania municipality.
In fact, the Roman legacy endures in the names of the four provincial capitals. The inhabitants of Barcelona are 'barcinonenses' (from Barcino), those of Lleida are 'ilerdenses' (from Ilerda), those of Tarragona are 'tarraconenses' (from Tarraco), and those of Girona are 'gerundenses' (from Gerunda).
