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

Villalba, 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 Villalba surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Villalba in America

Villalba is the 6852nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Villalba surname appeared 4,913 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Villalba.

We can also compare 2010 data for Villalba 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 Villalba

The surname Villalba is of Spanish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the words "villa" meaning a town or village, and "alba" meaning white or dawn. The name likely originated as a toponymic surname referring to someone who hailed from a place called Villalba, of which there are several in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Villalba can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century Medieval Castilian manuscript that catalogued towns and their lords. This document mentions a place called Villalba de Duero in the province of Soria.

During the 15th century, the surname Villalba appeared in various records across Spain. For instance, a nobleman named Juan de Villalba was documented as serving in the court of King Juan II of Castile (1405-1454). Another notable figure was Pedro de Villalba, a 16th-century Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied the expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña to the Solomon Islands in 1567.

As the name suggests, several places in Spain share the name Villalba, such as Villalba de los Alcores in the province of Valladolid, and Villalba del Alcor in the province of Huelva. These place names likely contributed to the spread and popularity of the surname Villalba.

One of the most famous individuals to bear the surname Villalba was Francisco de Villalba y Angulo (1577-1637), a Spanish painter and sculptor who worked extensively in Mexico during the Baroque period. His notable works include the altarpiece in the church of Santa Prisca in Taxco, Mexico.

Another prominent figure was José Villalba Hervás (1709-1784), a Spanish naval officer and cartographer who served as the governor of Montevideo, Uruguay from 1767 to 1776. He played a crucial role in fortifying the city and defending it against Portuguese attacks.

In the 19th century, Manuel Villalba y Hervas (1801-1880) was a renowned Spanish architect who designed several notable buildings in Madrid, including the Palacio de las Cortes, the seat of the Spanish Parliament.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Villalba

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

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 Villalba 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 Villalba 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 Villalba was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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