About the Avila surname...

Many bear family names based on places of origin or residence.

De Avila is associated with the Spain town of Avila in Castille which had a Jewish community since at least the 11^th century. The spelling Abela is an older form of Avila.

Some of the earliest records of Jewish family names in this group date from 13^th century Spain.
Bonfos D'Avila is mentioned in Perpignan, France in 1413.

Well-known bearers of names in this group include the 15^th century confidant of King Henry IV of Castille, Diego Arias Davila (De Abila); the famous Rabbi Eliezer Dabela (De Abila) who was chief Rabbi of Rabat and Marrakech in Morocco in the 18^th century; Meir De Abila, Rabbi of Sefrou in the 19^th century; and the Moroccan Rabbi Abraham Dabela, who founded the synagogue “Shaar Hashamayim” at Lisbon in 1853.

De Avila is recorded as a Jewish surname in 15^th century Spain, and since the 17^th century in Morroco, England and America.

(With info provided by The Nahum Goldmann / Museum of the Jewish Diaspora)