The Vela surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 20,569 people carried this name — #1,603 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,100 people counted.
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In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 183 people named Vela.
86 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
124 people named Vela live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Fribourg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In print
Vela in American newspapers,
1865–1950.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 83,520 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Vela,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Vincenzo Vela 1820–1891 · sculptor -
Antonio Aguilar y Vela 1820–1882 · astronomer -
Petra Vela de Vidal Kenedy 1823–1885 · rancher -
Sofía Vela Querol 1828–1909 · composer -
Antoni Vela 1872–1950 · rower
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 98 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Vela.
- Veil 354 · U.S. census
- Veillard 163 · U.S. census
- Veilleux 2,346 · U.S. census
- Veillon 856 · U.S. census
- Veit 2,487 · U.S. census
- Veith 2,010 · U.S. census
- Velasco 23,114 · U.S. census
- Velasquez 57,163 · U.S. census
- Vele 290 · U.S. census
- Veler 134 · U.S. census
- Velez 42,820 · U.S. census
- Velin 178 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Vela 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.