49,254 Global VELEZ Family Members

VELEZ Family History

This Spanish and Portuguese surname is of pre 5th century German origins. Recorded in the forms of Vela, Velez, Vella, Villareal, and sometimes Villa, the derivation is a short form of the original 'Vigila', a popular baptismal name used by the tribes of the Vizigoth. These fierce people from what is now East Germany, swept down through Europe to Spain and Italy in the year 410 a.d., destroying the Roman armies, and remaining as conquerors until the 8th century, when they in turn were defeated. During this period they imposed their culture on the natives population, the most popular of the Spanish given names and surnames such as Gonzalez and Ramirez being examples of the modern forms of Vizigoth names.