AfonsoPortuguese Old (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.
ArmeniaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]
ArmonaPortuguese It indicates familial origin on the eponymous island in the municipality of Olhão.
AtaídesPortuguese For people descending from inhabitants of Freguesia do Ataíde, in Portugal; currently part of Vila Meã, or related to the noble family who owned those lands. The place was probably named after Athanagild, 6th-century king of Visigothic Hispania and probable founder of the village.
AveiroPortuguese, Spanish Demonymic surname refering to Aveiro a city in middle north-eastern Portugal. A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
AvelarPortuguese This indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Ansião.
Azuaje-fidalgoPortuguese (Rare), Spanish, Italian Fidalgo from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo — equivalent to "nobleman", but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility... [more]
BarbosaPortuguese denoting a person who lived by land that contained overgrown leafy vegetation from the portuguese word barba "leaf" + oso/osa (adjective suffix); variant of Barboza
BavieraSpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
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]
BitencourtPortuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), English BITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They 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]
BombaPortuguese, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak From bomba "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BorgesPortuguese, Spanish Possibly from Old French burgeis meaning "town-dweller" (see Burgess). Alternately, it may have denoted someone originally from the city of Bourges in France.
BotelhoPortuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian) From the Portuguese word botelho, which can denote a measure of grain, a grain sack, or seaweed, and was probably applied as an occupational name for a grain dealer or a gatherer of kelp or seaweed.
BragaPortuguese The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
BravoSpanish, Spanish (Mexican), Portuguese From 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, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
CabañasSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
CaixetaPortuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese common name for Tabebuia cassinoides, a tree native to Central and South America.
CaldeiraPortuguese Name given to a maker of kettles or other cooking vessels.
CamachoSpanish, Portuguese From 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.
CanabravaBrazilian Cana is the short form of 'cana de açucar' that means "sugar cane", and Brava is the feminine form of 'bravo' that means "angry". There is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, called Canabrava do Norte, and according to oral tradition, the origin of the name is due to the disease and subsequent death of some animals after eating a plantation of sugar cane.
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...
CavaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese From cava ‘cave’, ‘cellar’ (from Latin cavea), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in the wine cellars of a great house, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a cave, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.
CerqueiraPortuguese Habitational 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.
CordeiroPortuguese, Galician Means "young lamb" in Portuguese and Galician (Latin cordarius, a derivative of cordus "young", "new")... [more]
CoreanoFilipino, Spanish, Portuguese Means "Korean" in Spanish and Portuguese, possibly an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Korea or who had connections with Korea.
CorteSpanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese From corte ‘court', applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
CubaPortuguese, Asturian-Leonese, Galician, Spanish habitational name from any of the places in Portugal (in the provinces of Alentejo and Beira Baixa) or Spain (in Aragon, Asturies, and Galicia) named Cuba, from cuba ‘barrel’ (from Latin cupa)... [more]
CunhaPortuguese Habitational name from any of numerous locations named Cunha, probably named from Portuguese cunha meaning "wedge" or Galician cuinha meaning "hill".
Da CruzPortuguese A variant of Cruz, with the addition of the preposition 'da' (meaning 'of the' or 'from the').
Da LuzPortuguese From a religious epithet meaning ‘of the light’, specifically the Marian name "Nuestra Señora da Luz" (which means "Our Lady of the Light").
Da RosaPortuguese Literally means "of the rose" in Portuguese. It is generally a component of personal names; among women, it is a Marian name; among men, it is of uncertain application.
DebarrosPortuguese Portuguese: habitational name for someone ‘from (de) Barros’, of which there are numerous examples, all named from the plural of barro ‘clay’.
De SouzaPortuguese Means "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.
EspíndolaPortuguese (Latinized, ?) Portuguese of uncertain origin, but possibly a topographic name or a variation of Spinola. It was taken to Portugal by an immigrant family from Genoa, Italy.
FragaPortuguese Fraga, also derived from the Spanish variation of the word frescas meaning "strawberries", in the Portugal it translates to "from the cliffs or cliffside"
GoettemsGerman, Brazilian Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Goedems; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil. All members of the Goettems family in Brazil are descendants of Johann Goedems, born in Oberlöstern, Saarland, on September 17, 1798.
GonzagaSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name for someone from a location called Gonzaga in Mantua, Italy. This was the name of an Italian family that ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1708.
HortaCatalan, Portuguese Means "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, Portuguese Occupational 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), Brazilian Kaya 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]
KraisGerman, Brazilian Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Greis; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil.
LabradorSpanish, Portuguese, Filipino From the root word "labora" meaning labor or work. This means laborer or worker but often associated to farmers as in San Isidro Labrador
LacerdaPortuguese, Spanish Nickname for someone with remarkably thick or long hair, or with an unusually hairy back or chest. From Spanish and Portuguese lacerda ‘the lock (of hair)’.
LaurelSpanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Tagalog, Cebuano Topographic name for someone who lived by a laurel tree, Spanish laurel (Latin laurus), or a habitational name from Laurel in the Canary Islands.
LealPortuguese, Spanish Means "loyal" in Portuguese and Spanish. A famous bearer of this surname is Roberto Leal, a very popular singer in Portugal.
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone living on the banks of the river of this name (of pre-Roman origin, probably akin to a Celtic element lemos, limos 'elm').
LinharesPortuguese Portuguese: habitational name from any of several places called Linhares, for example in Braganca, Guarda, and Vila Real, from the plural of linhar ‘flax field’ (Latin linare, a derivative of linum ‘flax’).
LinzmeyerGerman, Portuguese (Brazilian) Means "bailiff of Linz, Austria" in German, derived from Proto-Celtic *lentos (“bend”) and Middle High German meier meaning "bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin maior meaning "greater".... [more]
MacedoPortuguese, Spanish (Latin American) Referred to a person who worked or lived at an apple orchard. It is derived from Vulgar Latin mattianēta meaning "place with apple trees."
MadeirasPortuguese Came 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, Spanish Occupational name from old Spanish and Portuguese maestre meaning 'master', 'master craftsman', 'teacher'.
MirandaSpanish, Portuguese, Jewish Habitational 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".
MontenegroSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in Spain and Portugal named Montenegro, from Spanish and Portuguese monte meaning "mountain, hill" and negro meaning "black".
MoreiraPortuguese, Galician Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Portugal and Galicia called Moreira, from moreira meaning "mulberry tree".
MouraPortuguese Derived 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]