Vidal
Vidal is a name that originated in Spain based on the Latin Vitalis, referring to the trait of vitality. Though first used as a given name, it is most commonly found as a surname, which is incredibly common globally. It is a Catalan surname, originally from the historic Kingdom of Aragon and now common across Spanish-speaking nations. Infrequently seen as a given name, it has more popular variants, and is also found globally.
Origins and etymology
Vidal originated as a given name and may be given as a baptismal name, a rendering of the Latin name Vītālis, meaning "life" and "vitality". This ultimately derived from a proto-Indo-European root that Juan Sebastián Elián, in his dictionary of surnames, referred to as guem and defined as meaning "to come into the world"; Elián wrote that this root meaning was interpreted as a blessing for long life for newborns. The meaning is also reflected in some of the surname's variants, those coming from vivas, " you live", and vivere, the imperative "to live".The name was recorded in Spain at least as early as the 3rd century AD, when Saint Vidal of Complutum was martyred. As a surname, it was first used in the Catalan language, originating in Barcelona. In the 17th century, reviewed the surname's origins and, citing, attributed it to 13th century knight Bernardo Vidal, one of the first Christian settlers of Atzeneta del Maestrat in Valencia. Royal heraldry chronicler Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent suggested it was first recorded in Barcelona in 1228. Though Cadenas noted various settlements with the name around Barcelona, he wrote it was a patronymic.
Chilean historian wrote that the surname Vidal, at least in the case of being modified from Vital after migration, was a "geographical name" of the type that referred to a non-extant location's proper name, but which would still carry meaning in the country of origin. A genetic analysis of people with the surname, published within a wider Catalan surname and genetics study by Pompeu Fabra University in 2015, had 67 usable samples; of these, it found the subjects came from 57 different lines, showing significant genetic diversity and a large number of name origins.
Historians and Pascual Martínez Sopena wrote in 2010 that Vidal was one of a group of surnames that likely passed through Aragonese and Occitan as well as Catalan in its history. Linguist Xaverio Ballester, also citing, wrote the same in 2021, adding that Vidal is therefore "indistinct", i.e. cannot be assigned as belonging to any language in the modern day. Ballester and Guinot suggested that it was originally a staple and common surname in both Catalan and Valencian before being restricted to a "Catalan sphere". Guinot listed it as one of the common surnames derived from given names.
History
Roman Hispania
During the Roman rule of the Iberian peninsula, the Catholic martyr Vidal was born in present-day Madrid in the 3rd century. When the Diocletianic Persecution began, Vidal and his companions moved to Campania in exile, but were discovered and martyred in 293 AD near Padua. As Vidal is the Spanish rendering, the given name is mostly associated with this Spanish martyr, whose feast day is celebrated on 2 July, but he is not the only saint named Vitalis. There are at least twelve Vidals in the santoral published by. The earlier martyr Vitalis of Milan may have contributed to the name being used by others. However, Vidal is practically unknown as a given name outside of Spanish-speaking nations, and has never been particularly common in Spain either.Elián suggested usage may be more related to its meaning than being named after anyone, with linguist María Simón Parra agreeing that this given name in medieval usage "expressed the hopes and ideals of the people who gave it". Comparatively, argued for a connection between the Roman Spanish saints Vidal and Marcellus, and opined that their names were likely used as family identifiers, and could have been used in conjunction with each other, as was common among notable families in Roman times when people only had one name. He suggested that both the given name and surname Vidal descend from the martyr.
Pre-Spanish kingdoms
Historian wrote in the 16th century that Vidal "is a noble surname of knights in the Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia". The name has been recorded since at least the 12th century in the east of Spain: Peter II of Aragon granted land in Baix Ebre to Martí Vidal in order to build for the founding of the Order of Sant Jordi d'Alfama. It may also have been a surname in the name of Sancho Vidal, a 10th-century knight who discovered a plot to kill the infant prince Sancho II and rescued him. Sancho Vidal's descendants were permitted to use the hereditary surname Abarca – King Sancho II's epithet – and receive the associated privileges. The traditional coat of arms is a red background with a silver eagle wearing a golden crown, which was bestowed upon Bernardo Vidal during the siege of Burriana.Mares wrote that by the 1680s the Vidal family had "governed the city of Valencia for three hundred years"; indeed, there were at least twelve members of the Vidal family present when the city was signed over to James I of Aragon in the 13th century, most of whom received land grants. The knight Bernardo Vidal had been an advisor to James I during the conquest of Valencia. According to, Bernardo Vidal de Besalú was courageous in the Battle of the Puig and was thus awarded Carpesa by James I. Additionally, Berenguer Vidal and the Bishop of Valencia were entrusted with distribution of lands in the new Kingdom of Valencia and for drawing borders with the Kingdom of Castile.
File:BnF ms. 12473 fol. 27 - Peire Vidal.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The name attested in a 13th-century chansonnier
Raimon Vidal de Bezaudun, a Catalan troubadour of the 13th century, is attributed with founding the Consistori del Gay Saber in Toulouse, a literary and poetry academy for the art of troubadours that also started the tradition of Floral Games in the Catalan-speaking world. The first winner of this event, in 1324, was another Vidal: Occitan writer Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari.
In the 14th century, Vidal knights were closely connected to the royal household of Aragon and participated in the Siege of Almería and the Aragonese conquest of Sardinia, while others were royal prosecutors in the kingdom's territories of Roussillon, Cerdanya, and Sardinia. The city of Barcelona had two Vidal knights promoted to the Order of the Golden Spur: Mateo de Vidal y Despla and his son Lorenzo Antonio de Vidal y de Sabastida, who were elevated to the honour by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and 1537 respectively.
The surname had arrived in Latin America by the 17th century, when a Bartolomé Vidal was an organiser in Michoacán.
As a given name, Vidal is found in the 12th century as the name of the second abbot of Poblet Abbey in the Prades Mountains, a role he briefly served from 30 November 1152 until his death prior to September in 1153. His name was then taken by other abbots at Poblet, Vidal de Alguayre and Vidal III, in the 13th century. In the 14th century, the bishop of Valencia was called Vidal, third son of the first Vidal de Blanes; bishop Vidal's nephew, Vidal de Blanes, became governor of Valencia in 1413. His son, the fourth of this name, was a favourite of Alfonso V due to his service in the Aragonese conquest of Naples; Vidal de Blanes was taken prisoner with Alfonso at the Battle of Ponza and in return was awarded the Viceroyalty of Mallorca in 1446.
In the Balearics
A Pedro Vidal participated in the conquest of Mallorca and was rewarded with Montuïri in 1230 in return; ever since the victory in 1229, this Vital family became rooted in the Kingdom of Mallorca and formed a significant part of its nobility. Branches of this family saw their surname become variants on Pidal. In the 14th century, there was a deputy for Mallorca called Pedro Vidal; Berenguer Pitalis was a noted member of Mallorcan nobility who represented the island for Jaume III. Vidal has been identified as a typical Mallorcan surname; linguist Marc Gandarillas noted it is "not properly" Mallorcan, in that it appears across the Catalan-speaking world.The surname also has illustrious history on the Balearic island of Menorca, where it was first recorded at the start of the 14th century with Pedro Vital – whose high office required Latinisation of names but whose name would have been Vidal – a deputy for Menorca but based in Perpignan. The name is found written as Vidal from at least the 15th century, when notary Pedro Vidal was living in Mahón; it is also found rendered as Vitalis, in the case of a council member, and again as Vital, with two men who were part of the island's jury. The jurors' family name was at this point well established in Ciutadella, and persisted through the 16th century.
There are extensive records from the early 16th century with the Vidal del Rafalet line, members of which held municipal positions in Mahón between 1509 and 1679, including those of Sindico, Bayle and Amostazen. In 1678, Francisco Vidal hijo de Antonio, a member of the line, was made a captain; his brother Juan was promoted to captain two days after Francisco retired, in recognition of the service of himself and his father, and had a more notable career in warfare and royal service. Their line, vassals in Mahón, was still producing captains in 1724. Another Vidal line, from Alaior, also held high municipal positions there and produced captains in the 17th century, and the lines of two brothers, Don Juan and D. Domingo Vidal y Segui, were ennobled by Charles III in 1782. The name was very widespread: there was also a peasant farmer called Juan Vidal, recorded in the 17th century due to his bravery in capturing twelve Moors disembarking near Mahón.