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

Villereal, 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 Villereal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Villereal in America

Villereal is the 129047th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Villereal surname appeared 132 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 Villereal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Villereal 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 Villereal

The surname Villereal originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish words "villa" meaning town, and "real" meaning royal or regal, suggesting the name was initially associated with a royal town or residence. The name can be traced back to the 13th century in the Castilian region of Spain.

In the 15th century, the name Villereal appeared in historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon, including a reference to Pedro de Villereal, a nobleman who served as an ambassador to the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1492. The name also appeared in documents from the Spanish conquest of the Americas, with a Diego de Villereal being listed as one of the early settlers in the colony of New Spain (present-day Mexico) in the late 16th century.

The Villereal surname is found in various spellings throughout its history, including Villareal, Villarreal, and Villareale. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping. A notable example is Juan de Villareal, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in 1519.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, with a María de Villereal being tried for heresy in 1635. This suggests the family had connections to the Catholic Church and may have held positions of influence within the religious establishment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Villereal surname outside of Spain was in the 18th century, when a family with this name settled in the French colony of Louisiana. André Villereal, born in 1712, was among the first members of this family to establish a presence in the New World.

Other notable individuals with the surname Villereal include:

1. Francisco de Villereal (1568-1637), a Spanish military engineer and architect who designed several fortifications in the Caribbean and South America.
2. Emilio Villereal (1844-1924), a Mexican painter and sculptor known for his works depicting scenes from the Mexican Revolution.
3. Juana de Villereal (1602-1678), a Spanish nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Immaculate Conception in Seville.
4. Tomás Villereal (1879-1958), a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the island's Attorney General in the early 20th century.
5. Ana Villereal (born 1972), a contemporary Spanish author and poet whose works explore themes of identity and cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Villereal

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

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

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

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