Villafranca History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Portugal
Spain

The distinguished Spanish surname Villafranca is of local origin, that is, derived from the place where the initial bearer once lived or held land. In this case, the name indicates "one who came from Villafranca." The surname is derived from the Latin "villas" indicating "a rural Roman property, estate"and the suffix "-franca," which is derived from the Germanic "frank" meaning "free, generous."

Early Origins of the Villafranca family

The surname Villafranca was first found in the Navarre region in the northeastern region of the Iberian peninsula. However, evidence also shows a presence of the name in the provinces of Alava and Segovia in Spain, as well as in Verona, Italy. The earliest record of this surname dates back to the fourteenth century when one Lope Sobanez de Villafranca was living in Tolsa in 1346.

Early History of the Villafranca family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Villafranca research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1475, 1520, 1566 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Villafranca History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Villafranca Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: de Villafranca, Vilafranca, Villefranca and others.

Early Notables of the Villafranca family

Prominent among bearers of the family name at this time was

Martin de Villefranca, who was living in San Sebastian in 1566 and Jose Fernando de Villafranca, who was ennobled in Fuenterrabia in 1694...
As well, the title of Marques de Villafranca was granted to Alonso Fernandez de Cordoba y Figueroa in 1475...

Villafranca migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Villafranca Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Alonso De Villafranca who arrived in America in 1512
Francisco De Villafranca who settled in Florida in 1538
Juan De Villafranca who settled in Peru in 1584

Villafranca Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Rodrigo De Villafranca, who landed in America in 1811 1
Alonso De Villafranca, who landed in America in 1812 1
Cantabius Villafranca, aged 33, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1826 1
Cantabius Villafranca, a Spanish soldier, who arrived in New Orleans in 1826
Francisco De Villafranca, who landed in Florida in 1838 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Villafranca Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Vincent Villafranca who settled in Arkansas in 1918

Contemporary Notables of the name Villafranca (post 1700) +

Rafael Villafranca, American politician, Honorary Consul for Costa Rica at Richmond, 1908 2
Juan de Villafranca (b. 1954), Mexican businessman and diplomat, Director General of Marking Services de Mexico
Mariano Villafranca (1835-1878), Philippine judge and city mayor
Rafael Villafranca (b. 1872), Philippine physician

Citations +

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, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html