Aguilar Last Name Meaning & Origin

The popular Spanish last name Aguilar likely denotes that the surname's original bearer came from any of numerous places called Aguilar or Aguilas, from the Latin aquilare, meaning "haunt of eagles." Those of Spanish origin, for example, may have come from the city of Aguilar (also called Aguilar de la Frontera) in Spain, near Córdoba. Some other possible localities of origin include Aguilar de Campoo in Palencia, Spain, and Aguilar de Segarra from the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 

Aguilar is the 45th most common Hispanic surname. According to WorldNames PublicProfiler, the name is most commonly found today in Spain, especially in the Andalucia region, followed by Argentina. Top cities include the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, and Sevilla, plus Los Angeles in the U.S.

Surname Origin: Spanish, Catalan, Jewish (Sephardic from Spain or Portugal)

Alternate Surname Spellings: AGUILERA, AGUILER, AGUILLAR, AGUILLARD

Famous People with the Surname Aguilar

• Grace Aguilar - English novelist and poet, best known for her writing on Jewish history and religion
• Christina Aguilera - American pop singer, song writer and actress
• Jeronimo de Aguilar - Franciscan friar involved in the 1519 Spanish conquest of Mexico
• Pepe Aguilar - American-born Mexican singer-songwriter and actor

Genealogy Resources for the Surname Aguilar

50 Common Hispanic Surnames & Their Meanings
Garcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 50 common Hispanic last names?

AGUILAR Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Aguilar surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Aguilar query.

FamilySearch - AGUILAR Genealogy
Discover historical records and lineage-linked family trees for individuals with the Aguilar surname and its variations from this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

AGUILAR Surname & Family Mailing Lists
RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Aguilar surname.

DistantCousin.com - AGUILAR Genealogy & Family History
Free databases and genealogy links for the last name Aguilar.

References: Surname Meanings & Origins

Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.

Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.

Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.

Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.