Family name origins & meanings
- Asturian-Leonese and Spanish (Valdés) : habitational name from either of the two places called Valdés in Málaga and Asturies.
- Catalan (Valdès) : nickname from Catalan valdès ‘Waldensian’, i.e. a member of a Puritan religious sect which was founded in the 12th century by Peter Valdes (died 1205) in southern France. The widespread distribution of the surname in present-day Spain, however, suggests that other sources may also have been involved.