Valadez
A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name or a family line from medieval Iberia.
The #1,645 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,124 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Valadez is a Spanish surname, and its exact origin is not fully settled from general onomastic evidence alone. It is often treated as a habitational or locational name, likely connected with an Iberian place name or a term built on Romance roots related to a valley or lowland. The ending -ez can resemble Spanish patronymic surnames, but in this case the name is usually understood as part of a place-based surname tradition rather than a straightforward patronymic like González or Rodríguez.
History
The surname is found in Spanish-speaking regions and later spread widely through the Spanish-speaking Americas. In the United States it is especially associated with Hispanic families of Mexican ancestry. As with many Iberian surnames, spelling and pronunciation were stabilized later than the surname itself, so some historical branches may have developed locally from different places or family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is uncommon in the U.S. compared with many Spanish surnames, but it still has a clear and recognizable Hispanic profile in census records.