Villar

This interesting name is of Norman French origin, and was introduced into England by the Norman Followers of William the Conqueror after 1066. It is a locational surname deriving from any of the numerous places in France called "Viller", "Viller", "Villers" or "Villiers"; the places all share the same meaning and derivation, which is from the late Latin "villare", outlying farm, dependent settlement, a derivative of "villa", village, settlement. The surname development includes William de Viliers (1185, Yorkshire), and Nicholas de Vylirs (1327, Sussex). One Roger de Vilers of Dorset, recorded in the "Red Book of the Exchequer" of 1166, came from "villers-le-sec" in Calvados. The modern surname can be found as Villers, Villers, Villars, Villis, and Villar. The marriage of Vincent Villar and Mary Emett was recorded at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on June 22nd 1701. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Vilers, which was dated circa 1130, The Staffordshire Chartulary, during the reign of King Henry 1, "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.