Valladares
A Spanish surname probably linked to places named from a defensive wall or enclosure.
The #3,012 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,943 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as locational: it likely comes from a place-name built on Spanish vallado, meaning a fence, palisade, or defensive enclosure. That word goes back to Latin vallum, a rampart or wall. In older Spanish scholarship, Valladares is also connected with the idea of enclosed or defended sites.
History
The name appears in Spanish onomastic discussions as part of a wider group of surnames formed from place-names. It is especially associated with the Hispanic world and later spread through Spanish and Latin American usage. Modern bearers are most numerous in Spanish-speaking regions, with some presence in the United States through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root behind Valladares is related to the idea of a rampart or wall, so the surname may originally have described someone from a fortified place.
From the historical record
“Sarmiento (M.). Catalog© para una libraria de 3 6 4000 libros. (M. Valladares (A.) semanario erudito, vol. 5. 1787.) Saxe (C). Onomasticon literarium, sive nomenclator historico-criticus. Ed. alt. Traj. a R. 17 75-1 803. 8 vols. 8vo. Note, — The Index is in vol. 7.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland