Valera
A surname of Iberian origin, most likely from a place-name or local family name built on Latin roots connected with “valley” or a plain.
The #8,392 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,282 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Valera is an Iberian surname found in Spanish and Portuguese contexts. The name is generally linked to place-names or local identifiers built on the Latin root vallis, “valley,” or on related Romance forms used in names of settlements and estates. In some traditions it may also be associated with Valera as a toponymic family name rather than a descriptive nickname.
History
The surname appears in historical lists of Spanish surnames and has long been established in Iberia and the wider Spanish-speaking world. It is also known internationally through modern bearers, including the surname form de Valera in Irish usage, where it was adopted as a surname element by the family of Éamon de Valera. Because the historical excerpts only mention the name in passing, the deeper origin remains somewhat general rather than tied to one single documented place.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Éamon de Valera, one of the best-known bearers of the name, helped make Valera familiar far beyond the Iberian world.
From the historical record
“x>e "bAcvin, Bacon, •oe t)A-6t:iJn, Boyton. x>e t)AileAHA, de Valera. "oe t)Aileif, "oe t)Ail^f, •oe t)Ailif, Wallis, Wallace ; Walsh, etc.”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames