Find out how popular the last name Vilay is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Vilay.

Vilay, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Vilay surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vilay in America

Vilay is the 112568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vilay surname appeared 156 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Vilay.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vilay to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Vilay

The surname VILAY is believed to have originated in the region of Brittany, France, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old French word "ville," meaning "town" or "village," and is likely a toponymic name, referring to someone who hailed from a particular town or settlement.

The earliest recorded instances of the name VILAY can be traced back to the Parish registers of Brittany, where it appears as "Villay" and "Vilay" in the late 1500s and early 1600s. These variations in spelling were common during that time period, as standardized spelling had not yet been established.

In the 17th century, the name VILAY is mentioned in several historical records, including the "Registres des Baptêmes" (Baptismal Records) of the parishes in Brittany. One notable bearer of this surname was Jean VILAY (1622-1687), a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Rennes, Brittany.

As the centuries progressed, the VILAY surname spread beyond the borders of Brittany, with some families migrating to other parts of France and even further afield. In the 18th century, a branch of the VILAY family settled in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), where they established themselves as successful plantation owners.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname VILAY was Pierre-François VILAY (1775-1834), a French naval officer and explorer who participated in several voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. He is credited with mapping several islands in the South Pacific and making significant contributions to the field of navigation and cartography.

Another notable bearer of the VILAY name was Marie-Louise VILAY (1812-1879), a French writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education. Her literary works, which often tackled social issues and the plight of women in 19th-century society, gained her recognition and acclaim during her lifetime.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several members of the VILAY family emigrated from France to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where they established new roots and communities.

One such individual was Émile VILAY (1864-1932), a French-born artist who settled in New York City and became known for his vibrant landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West and the Canadian Rockies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vilay

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Vilay.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Vilay was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Vilay has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Vilay was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Vilay, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!