Show ContentsAguilar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Aguilar emerged in the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Aguilar, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. Many Spanish local names reflect Arabic words or place-names because the Muslim Moors from the 8th to 12th centuries conquered Spain. The Aguilar family originally lived in a region close to an eagles nest. The surname Aguilar originally derived for the Latin word L'Aquillare which referred to a haunt for eagles.

Early Origins of the Aguilar family

The surname Aguilar was first found in Castile, predominant among the Christian kingdoms of medieval Spain.

Early History of the Aguilar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aguilar research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1211, 1238, 1252, 1383, 1492, 1545, 1714, 1837 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Aguilar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aguilar Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Aguilar, Aguilera, Aguiler, Aguiar, Aquilar and others.

Early Notables of the Aguilar family

Prominent among members of the family

  • were Francisco de Aguilar, steward to King Peter III in 1383
  • sixteenth century nobleman Juan de Aguilar of Salamanca
  • Francisco de Aguilar, castellan in Burgos in 1545
  • seventeenth century Spanish playwright Gaspar de Aguilar
  • Gaspar Honorato de Aguilar, seventeenth century Spanish dramatist and poet
  • Joan Baptista Aguilar (died 1714), Spanish dramatic author and poet who lived in Valencia
  • nineteenth century Peruvian patriot José Gabriel Aguilar
  • Manuel Aguilar, President of Costa Rica in 1837
  • Eugenio Aguilar, President of El Salvador 1846-48

Aguilar World Ranking

In the United States, the name Aguilar is the 359th most popular surname with an estimated 74,610 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Aguilar is ranked the 2,758th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. [2] And in South America, the name Aguilar is the 94th popular surname with an estimated 50 people with that name. [3]


United States Aguilar migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Aguilar Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Jerónimo de Aguilar, who reached the coast of Mexico in 1511 and lived for eight years among the Mayas, before joining Cortés in 1519 in the conquest of Mexico
  • Antonio de Aguilar, to Venezuela in 1534
  • Juan de Aguilar, to Florida in 1538
  • Diego de Aguilar y Contreras, to Chile in 1569
  • Beatriz de Aguilar, to Peru in 1592
Aguilar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jose Aguilar, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 [4]
  • Andres Aguilar, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 [4]
  • Garcia De Aguilar, who arrived in America in 1811 [4]
  • Juan De Aguilar, who landed in America in 1812 [4]
  • Juan De Aguilar, who arrived in America in 1813 [4]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Aguilar migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [5]
Aguilar Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Moses Aguilar, who arrived in Jamaica in 1746 [4]

Contemporary Notables of the name Aguilar (post 1700) +

  • Laura Aguilar (1959-2018), American photographer from San Gabriel, California
  • Gustavo Adrián Ruelas Aguilar (b. 1991), American soccer player from Fontana, California
  • Francisco Javier Aguilar García (1949-2020), Spanish professional footballer who played as a forward
  • Luis Aguilar Martínez (1969-2022), Mexican poet, essayist, narrator, translator and author of Debe ser ya noviembre (Cuadrivio Ediciones, 2019), Muchachos que no besan en la boca (Vaso Roto Ediciones, 2017) and many more
  • María Cristina Sangri Aguilar (1941-2022), Mexican politician, Member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, she served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1985 to 1991
  • Grace Aguilar (1816-1847), English novelist and writer of Spanish descent [6]
  • Natasha Aguilar Komisarova (1970-2016), Costa Rican silver and bronze medalist freestyle swimmer, active in the 1980s
  • José Aguilar Pulsar (1958-2014), Cuban boxer who won the Light Welterweight bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics
  • Japeth Paul C. Aguilar (b. 1987), Filipino basketball player
  • Eduardo Demetrio Bravo Aguilar (b. 1920), Argentine lawyer
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. "List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
  4. 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)
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  6. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 Apr. 2019


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