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Via Family History

Via Surname Meaning

Altered form of French Viar 1 or perhaps of some other similar (like-sounding) French surname such as Vier 3 and Viat, a cognate of Viet. Alternatively, a Frenchified form of an unidentified German surname. Compare Viar 2, Viars, Vier 2, and Vire.

Italian (southern): from a short form of a personal name or surname ending with -via, for example, Bellavia. Italian (southern): from a variant of Bia, a personal name of Greek origin, a calque of Latin Vita ‘life’.

Spanish and Italian: habitational name from a place called Vía ‘way, path’. Catalan: habitational name from a village called Via in Cerdanya.

In some cases, possibly also southern French: habitational name from Via in Pyrénées-Orientales, named from the Latin personal name Avitius + the suffix -anum. This surname is very rare in France.

In some cases, possibly also Breton (Côtes-d'Armor): unexplained.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Via family from?

You can see how Via families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Via family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Via families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there was 1 Via family living in Cornwall. This was about 50% of all the recorded Via's in United Kingdom. Cornwall and 1 other county had the highest population of Via families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Via surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Via ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Via. 25% of Via men worked as a Farmer and 12% of Via women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Via were Farm Laborer and Housekeeper.

View Census Data for Via | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

United States shown, England data unavailable

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    25%
  • Laborer
    20%
  • Salesman
    4%
  • Farm Laborer
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    12%
  • Stenographer
    11%
  • Housewife
    9%
  • Housekeeper
    7%

What Via family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 18,000 census records available for the last name Via. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Via census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Via

Passenger Lists

There are 2,000 immigration records available for the last name Via. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Via immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 26,000 military records available for the last name Via. For the veterans among your Via ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Via military records

You've only scratched the surface of Via family history

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What is the average Via lifespan?

Between 1950 and 2004, in the United States, Via life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1950, and highest in 2001. The average life expectancy for Via in 1950 was 38, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Via

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Via ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Via family tree

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