Show ContentsDe avila History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as De avila, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name De avila, 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 Spain was conquered by the Muslim Moors from the 8th to 12th centuries. The De avila family originally derived its name from the name of the province Avila.

Early Origins of the De avila family

The surname De avila was first found in Castile, an important Christian kingdom of medieval Spain. One of the earliest records of the name dates from the twelfth century: Blasco Gimeno de Avila was a nobleman who became Governor of Avila during the reign of King Alfonso VI. From Castile the family branched to other regions of the Christian north, including Leon.

Early History of the De avila family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our De avila research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1490, 1500, 1538, 1547, 1550, 1569, 1570, 1595, 1658, 1735, 1799, 1801 and 1810 are included under the topic Early De avila History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

De avila Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Avila, de Avila, Avilés, Aviles, Dávila, Davila, Dávilla and many more.

Early Notables of the De avila family

Prominent among members of the family

  • Luiz de Avilla y Zuniga (1490-1550), the Spanish soldier and historian. He was a diplomat in the Service of Charles V and he wrote a history of Charles' German Wars 1547. Also of note was Juan de Avil...
  • Gil Gonzalez de Avila (1570-1658), was a Spanish biographer and antiquary, educated at the residence of Cardinal Deza. Hernando de Avila (c. 1538-1595), was a Spanish artist, court painter to King Phi...


United States De avila migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

De avila Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Cristobal DeAvila, who landed in Veragua in 1835 1
  • Diego DeAvila, who arrived in Cartagena in 1835 1
  • Hernando DeAvila, who landed in Nombre de Dios, Panama in 1835 1
  • Melchor DeAvila, who landed in Cartagena in 1836 1
  • Nicolas DeAvila, who arrived in New Spain in 1836 1
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies De avila 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. 2
De avila Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • Antonio DeAvila, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1835 1
  • Juan DeAvila, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1836 1
  • Pedro DeAvila, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1836 1
  • Pedrarias DeAvila, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1837 1

Contemporary Notables of the name De avila (post 1700) +

  • Luiz de Avila y Zúñiga (1490-1550), Spanish soldier and historian
  • Juan de Avila (1500-1569), Spanish writer
  • Gil González de Avila (1577-1658), Spanish historian
  • Antony William de Ávila CHarris (b. 1962), Colombian former soccer striker for the Columbia National Team (1983-1998)


  1. 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)
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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