Villarreal
A Spanish place-name surname meaning someone from a place called Villarreal, literally “royal village” or “royal town.”
The #547 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,032 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Villarreal comes from Spanish place names made from villa, meaning “village,” “estate,” or “town,” and real, meaning “royal.” The literal sense is “royal village” or “royal town,” originally referring to someone who came from a town bearing that name. As a surname, it is therefore locational rather than descriptive.
History
The name is common in the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Spain and Latin America, where several towns have been called Villarreal or Villarreal de something. As with many Hispanic surnames, it likely spread from one or more local place names into hereditary family use during the late medieval and early modern periods. In the Americas, it remained especially strong in communities with Spanish colonial roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Villarreal is often spelled Villareal in the United States, but Villarreal is the more traditional Spanish form.