Meaning and Origin of Surname Villavicencio

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Vi-lla-vi-cen-cio is pronounced as:

[bee-yah-vee-sen-syaw] 

/ˌbiyɑviˈsɛnsyɔ/ is the International Phonetic Alphabet  (IPA) pronunciation.

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011, on Dictionary.com.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/villavicencio

Another pronunciation version is:
(vēlyävēsān'syō)
Based on The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/villavicencio

"Villavicencio" was derived from the words “Villa” and “Vicencio”. “Villa” is the Latin word for a country house, a country estate/manor, farm or village while “Vicencio” came from the Spanish personal name “Vincencio” whose Latin word is “Vincentius”. The word “Vincentius” was derived from the word “vincens” whose genitive is “vincentis” and the present participle of “vincere” which means “to conquer”. “Vincentius” means "conquering" and was used as a personal name describing the person's victory or his characteristics. 
References: http://en.wikipedia.org
                   

The surname "Villavicencio" originated from Spain from the place-name "Villavicencio de los Caballeros", a place in the Valladolid province of north-central Spain. The surname was derived from the name of the place where the original bearer resided. 

Villavicencio de los Caballeros in Valladolid, Spain

The earliest record of the use of the name Villavicencio was with Miguel Fernandez, Lord of Villavicencio. In his book "Nobiliario de los Reinos y Señorios de Espana",(2nd edition) page 302,  and written in 1857, Francisco Piferrer describes Miguel Fernandez as a vassal of Lord VIII Alonso, King of Leon and Castille and a "rico-hombre" meaning a magnate (wealthy, powerful and influential). He was given many privileges in 1198 and rewarded with vast lands by the king.  Villavicencio de los Caballeros was a village of conquerors where knights and their families settled. Miguel was the progenitor of the knights of this lineage.

The son of Miguel Fernandez was Garcia Fernandez Rasura, owner of the Villavicencio Manor in Castille. (Note: the Spanish form of surname contains both the first surname which is the father’s surname and followed by the second surname, the maternal surname). He served the king at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 as squadron leader where he fought against the Moors with great courage. Heavily wounded, he chanced upon the king and fell on his feet. The king held on to his harness and his royal hands became bloody. Thus, he ordered the addition of five bleeding fingers on their coat of arms which was blue stripes on gold in memory of the valour of Garcia. It became the coat of arms of the Knights of the Lords of the Banda Villavicencio which was instituted in Burgos by King Alonso(Alfonso) VIII in earlier years. He became known as Garcia Fernandez Rasura de Villavicencio. 

The son and successor of Garcia was Miguel Fernandez de Villavicencio. With King Ferdinand III, they reconquered Andalucia from the Moors in 1264 including Jerez de la Frontera. Having lost his father's Villavicencio Manor in Castille because of political problems, he settled his family in Jerez de la Frontera where he was also rewarded with land. His descendants had continually been running the affairs of the place since then.  His son Gonzalo Nuñez de Villavicencio became the regidor of Jerez de la Frontera.


References:
Translated from:
"Nobiliario de los Reinos y Señorios de Espana", 2nd edition, 1857 by Francisco Piferer
http://es.wikipedia.org