The Varela surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 26,621 people carried this name — #1,321 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,100 people counted. That is up 35% from 19,672 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Varela surname
A surname from Galician.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Varela» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 41,939 people named Varela live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
997 people named Varela live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 200 people named Varela.
Most of them — 103 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 31 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
54 people named Varela are counted in Finland and Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Who carried it
People named Varela,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Juan Cruz Varela 1794–1839 · writer -
Manuel Varela Limia 1796–1853 · military personnel -
José Varela de Montes 1796–1868 · physician -
José Gregorio Valera 1801–1890 · military personnel -
Felipe Varela 1821–1870 · military personnel
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 224 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Varela.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Varela is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.