Recorded in several spellings including Mora, Morales, Mourier and Morais, this is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, of ancient Roman (Latin) origins. It derives from the word 'mora' meaning 'the blackberry', and was originally occupational for a person who farmed these fruits in ancient times. The name is also habitational and may well derive in many instances from living at one of the many places on the Iberian Peninsula called 'Mora'. Habitational surnames were given to people after they left their original homesteads and moved to a new place.
The easiest form of identification for their new neighbours was to call them by the name of their former village. In this case we have example of recordings going back to the 16th century, and these include Perez de Morales, who married Elvira Garcia at Alhendin, province of Granada, Spain, on November 12th 1577. In California Jose Dios Morales married Maria de la Trinidad Cota, at San Gabriel, on February 12th 1827, and in Mexico Claudio Pedro Mora was christened at St Luis Obispal, Districto Federal, on July 1st 1865. The blazon of the coat of arms is quarterly, one and four, a green tree on a gold field, two and three, a barry of six, silver and black. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anthoni Mora, which was dated January 21st 1551, born at Santa Maria Mantaro, Barcelona, Spain, during the reign of King Charles 1st of Spain, Emperor of Mexico, 1516 - 1556. 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.
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname morillas is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation. Adhering to what we know about the way surnames originated, it is possible to offer a realistic explanation of the origins of morillas.
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname morillas provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations.
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname morillas, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of morillas developed. In the following lines, you will find everything we have been able to gather about the surname morillas.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about morillas and send it to us, we will update it on this website.
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname morillas were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. If you or someone you know bears the surname morillas, you could potentially build illustrious lineages through your efforts and virtues. It is our desire to highlight in this section those individuals with the surname morillas who, for various reasons, have left their mark on the course of history.
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of morillas are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation. Accessing the archives of the town or towns where your ancestors were born and lived is, of course, a good way to trace the origins of morillas.
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of morillas, and at the same time, of surnames in general.