Meaning and origin
The last name Ornelas originates from the nobiliary and heraldic traditions of medieval Portugal and Spain. Derived from the Portuguese word "ornela," meaning "service tree," Ornelas is a toponymic surname, referring to a place named after this specific type of tree. It is likely that ancestral members of the Ornelas family resided near a location where service trees were abundant, leading to the adoption of the name to identify their lineage. This toponymic form of surname became popular during the Middle Ages, serving as a means of identifying individuals based on their connection to a particular place.
Surname origins are rarely settled: one spelling can have several sources, and families often took a name for reasons nobody wrote down. Check it against the sources below before you rely on it.
Similar spellings
#1,568
Ornelas was the 1,568th most common surname in the 2010 US Census, with 22,969 people, about 7.4 in every 100,000.
Who carries it
Surnames like Ornelas
Names it is linked with, then names with the same origin and a similar standing.
Check the sources
- Forebears: where Ornelas is found around the world
- The Internet Surname Database: a second opinion on the origin
- US Census Bureau: the 2010 surname figures used here
For a name you are serious about, compare the dictionaries: Reaney and Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames; Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names.