Origin of the surname Porpino?
So, I'm aware that Porpino is a Brazilian variant of a surname that was previously spelled differently. The surname Porpino is only found in Brazil and the United States (via Brazilian immigration to the US). The Porpino surname first appeared in northeastern Brazil around the mid-nineteenth century. I've been theorizing that it might have originated with the immigration of two Italian brothers by the names of Giuseppe and Giovanni Porporino. The Porporino brothers left Italy for Brazil around the time of the unification of the Kingdom of Italy. Interestingly, the surname Porporino is not found in Brazil. The Porpino surname began appearing around the same time as the Porporino brothers had emigrated to Brazil. So, my hypothesis is that modern-day Porpinos must either be the descendants of one of these two brothers, but I have no evidence to support the link between Porporino and Porpino. I also read online that some genealogists claim that Porpino is actually a Brazilian corruption of a Hungarian surname, and not Italian. Although, they never revealed the Hungarian surname they claimed Porpino is derived from. Would anyone on here be able to help me discern the true origin of the Porpino surname?
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Replies

Olá, sou porpino do Nordeste. Meu tataravô João Porpino da Silva (no brasil) provavelmente é italiano, não encontramos o nome dos pais, apenas dos filhos e esposa (já aqui no brasil). Seu irmão José Porpino Ferreira da Silva (NO brasil) a mesma coisa, só temos os nomes do filhos e esposa. Meu avô possui uma árvore genealógica no myheritage c okkm mais de 800 nomes. Quem quiser entrar, só enviar uma mensagem por lá e comprovar que é um Porpino. Obrigada pelas informações.
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Google translate says:
Hi, I'm porpine from the Northeast. My great-great-grandfather João Porpino da Silva (in Brazil) is probably Italian, we can't find the names of his parents, only his children and wife (already here in Brazil). His brother José Porpino Ferreira da Silva (IN Brazil) the same thing, we only have the names of his children and wife. My grandfather has a family tree on myheritage c okkm over 800 names. Anyone who wants to enter, just send a message there and prove that he is a Porpino. Thank you for the informations.
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Surname Porpino still exist in Italy. But now italian Porpino could be about 50 or 60 people in the whole of Italy. They are 16 on the Italian White Pages. This could have derived from Porpora, another Southern surname, a little bit more common now in Naples. Usually, I have read this, american authorities preferred to change a surname in another one that still existed in USA. But for me it is difficult to give an answer because i don't know well this surname.REGARDSGiacomo Ganza / Italy
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The only link I could find between the two names is at http://tinyurl.com/nfwheod but I don't see any reason to doubt your hypothesis. As far as I can see, there's no name even remotely similar to Porpino in Hungarian.
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Thank you, Marc! I appreciate the feedback.
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You can find two Italy immigrants Porpino in USA. Marc is right: no Porpino in Hungary.RegardsGiacomo
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I am three years late, but thank you for both of your responses! It certainly helped.
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