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

Villao, 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 Villao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Villao in America

Villao is the 115639th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Villao surname appeared 151 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 Villao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Villao 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 Villao

The surname VILLAO originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "villa," meaning a small town or village, and the suffix "-ao," indicating a place of origin or association. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who hailed from a particular villa or village.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the VILLAO surname can be found in a 13th-century Catalonian document, where it appears as "Vilao." This spelling variation highlights the fluidity of surnames during that era, as they were often influenced by local dialects and scribal interpretations.

In the 14th century, the name VILLAO appeared in the historical records of the Kingdom of Aragon, which encompassed parts of modern-day Spain and France. A notable figure from this period was Juan Villao (c. 1320-1385), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city of Zaragoza.

The VILLAO surname also has ties to the Basque region of Spain, where it may have originated from the Basque word "billao," meaning a meeting place or assembly. This connection is evident in the life of Martín Villao (1460-1524), a Basque merchant and explorer who played a role in the early Spanish colonization efforts in the Americas.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Spanish Empire expanded across Europe and the New World, the VILLAO surname spread to various regions. One prominent individual from this era was Diego de Villao (c. 1580-1648), a Spanish military commander who served in the Thirty Years' War and played a crucial role in the defense of Catalonia against French forces.

In the 18th century, the VILLAO surname found its way to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Francisco Villao (1712-1788), a Spanish-born settler in New Spain (present-day Mexico), became a successful landowner and rancher, establishing a legacy that his descendants would carry on for generations.

As the centuries passed, the VILLAO surname continued to disperse across the globe, with individuals bearing this name making their mark in various fields. María Villao (1885-1964), a renowned Spanish painter and sculptor, gained recognition for her avant-garde works and her contributions to the Modernist movement in art.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Villao

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Villao, 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!