Brazilian Submitted Surnames
Brazilian
names are used in the country of Brazil in South America.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AFONSOPortugueseOld (6th century derived) Iberian surname, associated with the first dynasty and King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques. The surname was used by all the subsequent illegitimate children of that dynastic line.
AVEIROPortuguese, SpanishDemonymic surname refering to Aveiro a city in middle north-eastern Portugal. A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
AVELARPortugueseThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Ansião.
BALFAGERPortugueseName of a Visigoth noble family (around the 10th century) from the Iberian Peninsula (current northern Portugal), meaning "bold spear"; they descent from the Balti dynasty.
BARBOSAPortuguesedenoting a person who lived by land that contained overgrown leafy vegetation from the portuguese word
barba "leaf" +
oso/osa (adjective suffix); variant of
Barboza BETHENCOURTFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare)Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population...
[more] BETTENCOURTFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare)Bettencourt and
Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population...
[more] BRANCOPortuguesefrom the the portuguese word
Branco meaning "white", referring to someone with light skin and/or hair
BRAVOSpanish, PortugueseFrom a Spanish and Portuguese nickname for a fierce or violent man (from Spanish and Portuguese
bravo "fierce, violent"). This surname was borne by Charles Bravo (1845-1876), a British lawyer and possible murder victim.
CABAÑASpanish, PortugueseHabitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
CABAÑASSpanish, PortugueseHabitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
CAMACHOSpanish, PortugueseFrom the ancient European
camb, meaning twisted or disfigured, denoting to someone with visible physical abnormalities, but could possibly also refer to residents of a particularly gnarly tract of land.
CANGUSSUBrazilianThe surname Cangussu has its origins in the Tupi-Guarani language and is a variation of Akangu’su, which means 'Jaguar'.
CASAItalian, Portuguese, SpanishFrom
casa "house" (Latin
casa "hut, cottage, cabin"), perhaps originally denoting the occupier of the most distinguished house in a village.
CASCALHOPortuguese (?)What I know about this surname is that it came from Alentejo, a region in Portugal countryside. The eldest Cascalho I know lived in Évora (city in this province) so I assume the name born there...
CERQUEIRAPortugueseHabitational name from any of various places named Cerquerira, in most cases from a Latin derivative of
quercus "oak". The family name also occurs in Sicily, probably of the same origin.
CORREIAPortuguesemeaning "leather strap" or "belt", "rein", or "shoelace"; denoting a person who worked with leather products
CUNHAPortuguese (Brazilian)This name can mean either mean that your upper class or a coin maker. Cunha directly translates to "coin" or "wedge"
DA SILVAPortugueseTopographic name for someone who lived by a wood, from Latin
silva meaning "wood". Famous bearers are Brazilian footballers Thiago Silva and Neymar.
DE SOUZAPortugueseMeans "of Sousa" in Portuguese, referring to the River Sousa flowing through northern Portugal. The word
Sousa itself is derived from the Latin
saxa, saxum meaning "stone, rock". The surname is more commonly used in Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African countries today.
DOS SANTOSPortuguese, SpanishFrom a Spanish and Portuguese name applied originally to a child born or baptized on All Saints' Day (from Spanish and Portuguese, literally "of the saints"). A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
EIRIZPortugueseThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Paços de Ferreira.
FARIAPortuguese, ItalianFaria is a Portuguese surname. A habitational name from either of two places called Faria, in Braga and Aveiro. ...
[more] GAMAPortugueseProbably from gama ‘fallow deer doe’, feminine form of gamo, possibly as a topographic or habitational name.
HORTACatalan, PortugueseMeans "garden" (Latin
hortus), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosed garden or an occupational name for one who was a gardener.
JURADOSpanish, PortugueseOccupational name for any of various officials who had to take an oath that they would perform their duty properly, from
jurado "sworn", past participle of
jurar "to swear" (Latin
iurare).
KAYANOJapanese (Rare), BrazilianKaya means "yew tree",and No means "field,meadow,wilderness".People with this last name are Kayano Gonbei (a samurai),Ai Kayano(a voice actress of MANY characters /more than 30),and Shigeru Kayano(an Ainu politician who lived well up to 2006)...
[more] LABRADORSpanish, Portuguese, FilipinoFrom the root word "labora" meaning labor or work. This means laborer or worker but often associated to farmers as in San Isidro Labrador
LACERDAPortuguese, SpanishNickname for someone with remarkably thick or long hair, or with an unusually hairy back or chest. From Spanish and Portuguese
la cerda ‘the lock (of hair)’.
LEALPortuguese, SpanishMeans "loyal" in Portuguese and Spanish. A famous bearer of this surname is Roberto Leal, a very popular singer in Portugal.
LEITAOPortuguesePortuguese metonymic occupational name for a keeper of pigs, or nickname meaning ‘piglet’, from Portuguese
leitão ‘(suckling) pig’.
MADEIRASPortugueseCame from the Portuguese Madeira word "wood" or "timber". perhaps the portuguese version of the surname
Woods or someone who's from the Portuguese island Madeira
MAESTREPortuguese, SpanishOccupational name from old Spanish and Portuguese
maestre meaning 'master', 'master craftsman', 'teacher'.
MAIAPortugueseHabitational name from any of several places named Maia, especially one in Porto.
MALDONADOSpanish, PortugueseFrom
mal donado meaning "badly endowed" (literally, "badly given"). Also used for people originating from the Spanish village of Maldonado.
MIRANDASpanish, Portuguese, JewishHabitational name from any of numerous places in Spain and Portugal called Miranda. The derivation of the place name is uncertain; it may be of pre-Roman origin, or from Latin
miranda "view, outlook".
MOREIRAPortuguese, GalicianHabitational name from any of the numerous places in Portugal and Galicia called Moreira, from
moreira meaning "mulberry tree".
MOURAPortugueseDerived from the Portuguese word "Mouro", which refers to an individual from the Moor people. This is the feminine form of the word, often used in legends of enchanted moor women, which very common in Portugal...
[more] NATALPortuguese, SpanishFrom the personal name
Natal (from Latin
Natalis), bestowed on someone born at Christmas or with reference to the Marian epithet
María del Natal.
NORONHAPortugueseDerived from
Noreña, the name of a village in Asturias, northern Spain.
NOVOGalician, PortugueseNickname from Portuguese and Galician novo ‘new’, ‘young’ (Latin novus). The word was also occasionally used in the Middle Ages as a personal name, particularly for a child born after the death of a sibling, and this may also be a source of the surname.
PANTOJASpanish, PortugueseHas its origins in the place-name "Pantoja" in Spain. Derived from either the Greek word "panthos" (which means 'all gods') or the Mozarabic "panucea" (meaning 'spindle of yarn')....
[more] PÃOPortugueseMetonymic occupational name for a baker, from pão meaning "bread"
PARPortugueseDerived from Portuguese meaning "pair, couple, equal".
PEDROSASpanish, Catalan, Portuguese, GalicianHabitational name from any of numerous places named Pedrosa, from pedroso, pedrosa meaning "stoney", an adjectival derivative of pedra meaning "stone".
PORTUGALSpanish, Portuguese, English, Catalan, French, JewishSpanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, French, and Jewish surname meaning ethnic name or regional name for someone from Portugal or who had connections with Portugal. The name of the country derives from Late Latin Portucale, originally denoting the district around Oporto (Portus Cales, named with Latin portus ‘port’, ‘harbor’ + Cales, the ancient name of the city)...
[more] PRETOPortuguesecomes from the Portuguese word
preto meaning "black" or "dark". referring to someone with dark skin and/or hair. possibly a cognate of the spanish surname
PRIETO REGOPortuguesePrimarily Iberian, particularly
Portuguese in origin. A topographic name for someone who lived by a channel.
REGUEIROGalician, PortugueseThe name originated in Ourense (Galicia) in the 14th Century. It´s literal meaning in Portuguese is river. It is a surname referring to a person who lived near a river or water source.
SÁPortuguese, GalicianVariant spelling of
Saa, a habitational name from any of the numerous places named Saa, mainly in northern Portugal and Galicia.
SALVADORSpanish, Catalan, PortugueseFrom the popular Christian personal name
Salvador, meaning "Savior" (Latin
Salvator, a derivative of
salvare "to save"), bestowed in honor of Christ.
SENNAPortuguesePossibly coming from the surname "Sanna", it may mean "one with a big protruding tooth"....
[more] SOUZAPortugueseName of the Balfager's (Visigoth family, part of the Iberian nobility) solar (realstate), later used as the family's surname; the name "Souza" comes from the Latin word "saxa" meaning "peeble".
SPÍNOLAPortuguesePortuguese topographic name from a diminutive of
espinha ‘thorn’, ‘thorn bush’.
TEIXEIRAPortugueseFrom the portuguese
teixo meaning "yew"; or "yew tree". yew is a type of shrub
VAGULAEstonian, BrazilianVagula is the name of a village and a lake in Võru Parish, Võru County in southern Estonia.
VANDERLEIBrazilianIt derives from the Dutch surname Van der Leij/Ley. The surname arrived in Brazil by Kaspar Nieuwhoff Van Der Leij by 1630, a cavalry captain from the Dutch army.
VERDESpanish, Italian, PortugueseFrom Spanish
verde "green" (Latin
viridis), presumably a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in this color or had green eyes, etc. This is also a common element of place names.
VIEIRAPortugueseReligious byname from Portuguese
vieria "scallop" (Late Latin veneria, a derivative of the name of Venus; the goddess was often depicted riding on a scallop). The scallop was a symbol of the pilgrim who had been to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela.
VIEIRAPortugueseHabitational name from any of numerous minor places called Vieiria.
VILLARDGalician, PortugueseA Galician and Portuguese surname in the north of Iberian Peninsula. It's a last name belonging to ancient Celtic tribes.
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