Quintanilla is a Spanish name. Its root word is quinto, which means "fifth" in Spanish. Hundreds of years ago, when money was not in the hands of the majority of people, tenant farmers paid rent by giving a fifth of their harvest to the landlord. This gave rise to names such as Quintana or Quintanilla.
This coat of arms for Quintanilla features dice showing the number five.
Many towns in Spain are named Quintanilla.
The first Quintanillas on Guam that we know of show up in the 1758 Census under the list of soldiers from Pampanga, Philippines.
There are two men named Quintanilla in that census, both in Hagåtña.
Mariano de Quintanilla was married to Maria Pablo. They had nine children listed in 1758.
Andres Casimiro de Quintanilla was married to Maria Serafina de los Reyes. He could have been Mariano's brother, or maybe not. Maybe not even a relation. This couple had three children listed in 1758.
By the late 1800s, there were many Quintanillas in Sumay. In the 1900s, Quintanillas moved to Hågat, Inalåhan and Luta.
In Spanish, the name would be pronounced with the LL sounding like a Y.
But Chamorros don't have the Y sound. It comes out sounding like DZ.
That's why the Spaniards used LL sometimes in Chamorro words and names that had the DZ sound. Like Acfalle and Tajalle.
Does Anyone Remember Selena?
The Latina singer murdered at the age of 24 back in 1995? Her last name was Quintanilla. Her husband? Perez!