Valls History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the name Valls date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence near a stone-built wall. Valls is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Valls referred to a person who lived beside a large stone wall, which was used either for the purpose of fortification, or to keep back the encroachment of the sea. Members of the Valls family were established in Gloucestershire prior to the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066. By the time of the Conquest, they were major landholders in that county.

Early Origins of the Valls family

The surname Valls was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times and appeared as holders of lands in the Domesday Book compiled in 1086 by King William of England. The name was from the Anglo Saxon Wal, meaning a stranger. Wales is a parish, in the union of Worksop, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "This parish, in the Domesday Survey called Walise, belonged to Morcar, Earl of Northumberland, in the reign of Edward the Confessor." 1

Early History of the Valls family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Valls research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1210, 1303, 1352, 1588, 1620, 1647, 1666, 1679, 1728, 1760, 1789 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Valls History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Valls Spelling Variations

Valls has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Valls have been found, including Wall, Walls, Wale, Walles and others.

Early Notables of the Valls family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Thomas Wale (1303-1352), an English soldier and co-founder of the Knight of the Garter; William de Wall, the knight who accompanied Strongbow; Saint John Wall, O.F.M., (1620-1679), an English Catholic Franciscan friar, apprehended under suspicion of being a party to the Titus Oates plot, was executed and later honored...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Valls Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Valls Ranking

In France, the name Valls is the 6,878^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Valls family to Ireland

Some of the Valls family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Valls migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Vallss to arrive on North American shores:

Valls Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Teresa Valls, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1812 3
H S Valls, aged 29, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1839 3
Ant Valls, aged 22, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1845 3
Juan Valls, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1855 3
Jose Valls, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1865 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Valls (post 1700) +

P. B. Valls, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Port Mahon, 1884 4
John F. Valls, American politician, U.S. Consul in Matamoros, 1897 4
John Valls, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2000 4

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html