A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Varela family of Spain.
paleMilitary strength, and a fortified defenceJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or à cinq pals de sin.”
The Varela arms were recorded in Andalusia, c. 1722.
Andalusia was the last part of Spain taken back from the Moors, and the land was shared out among the men who took it. A grant of land came with a grant of arms, so the region produced a great many.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Spain in this period.
Reigning in Spain when the Varela arms are first recorded.
In Spain, a coat of arms was considered a form of property that belonged to the entire family line. These arms were passed down from a father to all his children equally. Younger branches of the family usually kept the original design without needing to add any special marks to distinguish their specific line.
The surname Varela is a topographic name that originated in the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula, specifically Galicia. It is derived from the Galician word "varela," which refers to a small stick or a rod, and it likely served as a descriptive nickname for a person who was thin or tall. By the early 18th century, members of the Varela family had migrated south to the Andalusia region, where they became part of the local social and economic landscape by 1722. During this era, families often moved across the peninsula to seek new agricultural opportunities or administrative positions in the growing southern cities. The presence of the Varela name in Andalusia during this time reflects the broader patterns of internal migration that helped shape the demographics of modern Spain.
Latin term meaning varied, diverse, or spotted.
