Portuguese Surnames

Abel 1 is a surname that derives from the given name Abel. The given name Abel itself has deep biblical roots, coming from the Hebrew name Hevel, meaning "breath" or "vapor," which reflects the transient nature of life....

Abreu is a surname of Galician and Portuguese origin, with its precise etymology uncertain but thought to derive from a Germanic personal name. The name is believed to have been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula during...

Etymology and OriginsAlbuquerque is a surname of Iberian origin, derived from the Spanish town of Alburquerque, located near the Portuguese border in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura. The town's name itself is though...

Almeida is a Portuguese surname that designates a person who originally lived in the town of Almeida in Portugal. The place name itself derives from the Arabic al māʾida (ال مائدة), meaning "the plateau" or "the table,"...

Alves is a Portuguese surname meaning "son of Álvaro". It is one of many patronymic surnames formed with the suffix -es, akin to Spanish -ez, indicating lineage. The root name Álvaro derives from the Visigothic Alvarus,...

Andrade is a surname of Galician origin, which emerged in the 12th century as the family name of the knights and lords of the small parish of San Martiño de Andrade (St. Martin of Andrade), in the municipality of Pontede...

Antunes is a Portuguese surname of patronymic origin, meaning "son of António." António is the European Portuguese form of the Latin name Antonius, which has been assimilated into English as Anthony. The name Antonius it...

Araújo is a Galician and Portuguese surname of noble medieval origin. It is a topographic surname, meaning it denoted a person who hailed from one of several places named "Araújo" found in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal, m...

Barros is a Portuguese and Spanish surname with dual origins rooted in the word barro, meaning "clay" or "mud" in both languages. As an occupational name, it would have referred to a person who worked with clay or mud, s...

Etymology and Origins Belo is a surname of Portuguese origin, serving as a variant of the broader surname Bello. While the Portuguese form Belo is most commonly encountered today, its root traces back to Bello, which its...

Branco is a Portuguese surname meaning "white", derived from the Portuguese adjective branco (white). It originated as a nickname for someone with light skin or hair, a practice common in many cultures to describe physic...

Bravo is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin, derived from a nickname meaning ‘angry, bold, brave’ in those languages. The word bravo in Romance languages historically carried connotations ranging from wild and fi...

Cabral is a Portuguese toponymic surname, derived from places named with the Late Latin term capralis, meaning "place of goats", stemming from Latin capra ("goat"). The surname originated in Portugal and later spread to...

Etymology & OriginCalvo is a surname that directly translates to "bald" in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, deriving from the Latin word calvus. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for a person with a b...

Camacho is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin, derived from a nickname. The exact etymology is uncertain, but it may stem from the Celtic root kambos meaning "crooked, twisted."Origin and EtymologyThe name likely...

Campos is a Portuguese and Spanish surname, meaning literally "fields" and functioning as a variant of Campo, which itself derives from the Latin word campus for "field" or "plain." The plural form Campos is particularly...

Capela is a Portuguese surname that is a form of Kappel, which originally denoted a person who lived near or worked at a chapel. The ultimate origin of the name lies in the Late Latin word cappella, a diminutive of cappa...

Cardoso is a Portuguese and Spanish surname of toponymic origin, derived from a place name meaning "thorny" in both languages, ultimately from the Latin word carduus (thistle). The surname likely originated as a referenc...

Carvalho is a Portuguese surname meaning “oak” in Portuguese, possibly originating as a toponymic name for someone who lived near such a tree. The name's etymology may trace back to Celtic roots, from )(s)kerb(h)/karb (“...

Castelo is a Portuguese and Galician surname, derived from the word cognate of Castle. It originates from the term castelo meaning "castle", from Late Latin castellum, and was typically used as a locative surname for som...

Castro is a Spanish and Portuguese surname meaning "castle". It derives from the Latin castrum, referring to a military camp or fortress, and originally denoted someone who lived near a castle or a hillfort. In this cont...

Chaves is a toponymic surname of Portuguese and Spanish origin, derived from the name of the city of Chaves in northern Portugal. The city's name itself traces back to the Roman settlement Aquae Flaviae, named for the Fl...

Coelho is a Portuguese surname derived from the Portuguese word for "rabbit." It originated as a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter or seller of rabbits, reflecting a common practice in medieval naming convent...

Correia is a Portuguese and Galician occupational surname meaning "leather strap, belt", derived from Latin corrigia (leather belt, gird, harness). It originally denoted a person who worked with leather products, such as...

Costa is a topographic surname of Catalan, Italian, and Portuguese origin, meaning "riverbank", "slope", or "coast". It derives from the Latin word costa ("rib; side"), which evolved to refer to a hillside, shore, or edg...

Crespo is a surname of Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word crispus, meaning "curly." It originally referred to a person with curly hair, a common trait used in nicknames and later as a he...

Cunha is a Galician and Portuguese surname of toponymic origin, derived from any of the numerous places in Portugal and Galicia called Cunha. The name is thought to come from the Portuguese and Galician word cunha meanin...

Da Costa is a surname of Portuguese origin, primarily used in Portugal and the broader Portuguese-speaking world, including Brazil and parts of Africa. It is a so-called toponymic name, meaning it derives from a geograph...

Da Gama is a Portuguese surname, a variant of the surname Gama. The prefix da originally meant "of" or "from," indicating nobility or geographic origin. The name is most famously associated with the Portuguese explorer V...

Delgado is a Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from the adjective delgado, meaning "thin" or "slender". The name ultimately traces back to the Latin word delicatus, which carried connotations of "delicate", "tender"...

Esteves is a Portuguese patronymic surname, literally meaning "son of Estevão" (the Portuguese form of Stephen). The name shares its origin with the Galician variant Estévez, which follows the same patronymic pattern but...

Fernandes is a Portuguese patronymic surname meaning "son of Fernando." The Spanish equivalent is Fernández (or Fern?ndez). The surname is highly prevalent in the Portuguese-speaking world; it ranks 3rd in Angola and São...

EtymologyFerreira is a Galician and Portuguese surname. It denotes a person from a town named after its proximity to an iron mine, deriving from the Latin ferrum meaning "iron". The name is toponymic, referring to places...

Ferreyra is a Galician and Portuguese surname, a variant of Ferreira, which originates from the Latin word ferrum ("iron"). The name therefore topographically denotes a person from a town near an iron mine or, in a broad...

Fonseca is a toponymic Portuguese and Spanish surname derived from the Latin fons siccus, meaning "dry spring" or "well". It originated as a habitational name for someone who lived near a dry spring or a water source tha...

Freitas is a Portuguese surname derived from the word feita or freita, meaning “broken” in the sense of rugged or uneven terrain. The name likely originated as a toponymic surname for someone who lived on broken, stony g...

Gama is a Portuguese surname derived from the Portuguese word gama, meaning "fallow deer doe" (feminine form of gamo "fallow deer

Garcia is a Portuguese and Spanish surname, best known as a variant or unaccented form of the far more common García, the most prevalent surname in Spain. In Portuguese, it is typically written without the acute accent,...

Gil is a surname of Portuguese and Spanish origin. It derives from the given name Gil 1, which itself is a Portuguese and Spanish form of Giles. The ultimate root is the Late Latin Aegidius, from Greek αἰγίδιον (aigidion...

EtymologyGonçalves is a common Portuguese surname meaning "son of Gonçalo." It is a patronymic surname that originated from the Germanic given name Gundisalvus, the Latinized form of a name composed of elements gunda ("w...

Gouveia is a Portuguese topographic surname derived from the name of the city of Gouveia in central Portugal, located in the Guarda District. The meaning of the place name is unknown, but it is believed to be of pre-Roma...

Guerra is a surname common in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking cultures, derived directly from the word for "war" in these languages. It originated as a nickname for a belligerent person or one engaged in warfar...

Henriques is a Portuguese surname meaning "son of Henrique," the Portuguese form of Henry. The name follows a common Iberian patronymic pattern, analogous to the Spanish Enríquez. Etymology and History The root of the na...

Lobo is a Portuguese and Spanish surname, derived as a nickname from the word lobo meaning "wolf" in both languages. The name thus belongs to a widespread European onomastic tradition of surnames originating from animal...

EtymologyLopes is a Portuguese and Galician patronymic surname, meaning "son of Lopo." Lopo itself is the Portuguese form of the Germanic name Loup, derived from the Latin lupus meaning "wolf." The name can be traced bac...

Machado is a surname of Portuguese and Spanish origin meaning "axe" or "hatchet," derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word machado ("hatchet"), which ultimately comes from Latin marculus ("little hammer"). The surnam...

Madeira is a Portuguese occupational surname meaning "wood" (from Portuguese madeira), originally referring to a carpenter or woodworker. It is a topographic and metonymic surname for someone who lived by a wood or worke...

Magalhães (pronounced [mɐɣɐˈʎɐ̃jʃ] or [maɡaˈʎɐ̃js]) is a Portuguese surname of toponymic origin, denoting a person who hailed from one of the numerous minor places named Magalhães in Portugal. The placename itself may de...

EtymologyMagro is a surname found in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish contexts. It originated as a nickname derived from a descriptive term meaning "thin, lean". This root can be traced to Latin macer, meaning "lean" or...

Mata is a surname common in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan-speaking regions, ultimately derived from the word mata meaning 'trees, shrubs' or 'thicket' in those languages. The term originates from Late Latin matta, ori...

Matos is a variant of the surname Mata, which itself comes from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan mata meaning "trees, shrubs," possibly from Late Latin matta meaning "reed mat." As a toponymic surname, Matos likely origi...

Medeiros is a surname of Portuguese and Galician origin, derived from various place names in Portugal and Galicia. The toponymic elements come from Portuguese medeiro meaning "haystack", ultimately stemming from Latin me...

Melo is a Portuguese surname, derived as a form of Merlo. Merlo itself originates from the Spanish and Portuguese word for "blackbird" (from Latin merula). The name thus connects to the blackbird, a bird often symbolizin...

Mendes is a Portuguese surname that derives from the patronymic form Menéndez, meaning "son of Menendo." The root of this name lies in the medieval Spanish given name Menendo, itself a variant of Hermenegildo, the Spanis...

Monteiro is a Portuguese cognate of the Spanish surname Montero, which means "hunter.” The name derives from the Portuguese and Spanish word monte (“mountain, wilderness”), ultimately from Latin mons. Monteiro thus origi...

Morais is a Portuguese surname, the cognate of Morales in Spanish. The root Morales derives from the Spanish moral, meaning "mulberry tree," Latin mōrus. This indicates that Morais is a toponymic surname originally refer...

Moreira is a common Portuguese surname, derived from the Portuguese word amoreira meaning "mulberry tree". The name likely originated as a toponymic surname for someone who lived near a prominent mulberry tree or who cul...

Nogueira is a toponymic surname of Galician and Portuguese origin, derived from the common noun nogueira meaning "walnut tree." The term itself comes from the Late Latin nucarius, which is ultimately derived from Latin n...

Nunes is a common Portuguese surname originating as a patronymic, meaning "son of Nuno." The name Nuno itself is of medieval Portuguese and Spanish origin, possibly derived from Latin nonus ("ninth") or nunnus ("grandfat...

Oliveira is a common Portuguese surname meaning "olive tree" in Portuguese, derived from Latin oliva. The surname originated as a toponymic name for someone who lived near or worked with olive trees.As a surname, Oliveir...