Bonilla
A surname of uncertain origin, often linked either to the Spanish word for ‘good’ or to a place-name source.
The #664 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,998 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bonilla is most often explained from Spanish bonillo, an old diminutive of bueno, meaning “good” or “little good one.” Some early scholars also treated it as a place-name surname, connected with local names such as Bonella or Bonel, which may themselves have arisen from a person’s name or from a boundary marker. Because the historical evidence points in more than one direction, the exact origin is best treated as uncertain.
History
The name is found in Spanish-language records and later spread widely through the Spanish-speaking world. Nineteenth-century writers noted possible links to old place-names and to archaic Spanish vocabulary, but did not settle the question conclusively. In modern usage it is especially common in the Americas, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source glossed bonilla as an old adjective related to bueno and even quoted a proverb using the form bonillo.
From the historical record
“Boneo. Accion ¡ efecto de bornear. Bonilla. Adjetivo anticuado, diminutivo de bueno, i asf dice un refran: «Compon un sapillo ¡ parecerá bonillo». Bono. Bueno. Especie de papel moneda. Bonoso. Buei silvestre que tiene crines como el caba-”
— Diccionario de los apellidos