Vilela Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Vilela last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Vilela last name
Meaning of the Vilela last name: small village. Vilela is a Portuguese surname from vilela, "small village", from many places of this name in northern Portugal and Galicia. It is common in the Minho, in Trás-os-Montes and in Brazil, where families of this last name settled in Minas Gerais and São Paulo during the colonial period.
Arms associated with the Vilela name
Coats of arms associated with the Vilela surname belong to Portuguese heraldry, whose blazon traditions reached Brazil.
Get your full Vilela family history
This is only a glimpse of the Vilela story. The full Vilela history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Vilela coat of arms. Get the full Vilela report.
Vilela name FAQ
What does the Vilela name mean?
Small village. Common variants include Vilella, Vilhena.
Where does the Vilela surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, the United States and Angola.
Is there a Vilela coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Vilela coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: José Pedro Machado, Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (Lisboa, 1984); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).