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Portuguese Last Names

Find Portuguese last names from Silva and Santos to Azorean island names, each with its meaning, and learn why the father's surname comes last in Portugal and Brazil.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Abreu

    Habitational name from Galicia or Minho

  • Afonso

    From the given name Afonso, noble and ready

  • Aguiar

    Place of eagles

  • Albuquerque

    Habitational name from Alburquerque, white oak

  • Alexandre

    From the given name Alexander

  • Almeida

    From Arabic, the plateau

  • Alves

    Son of Álvaro

  • Amaral

    Habitational name, possibly place of bitter grapes

  • Amorim

    Habitational name from Minho

  • Andrade

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Anjos

    Angels, devotional name

  • Antunes

    Son of Antão

  • Aragão

    From Aragon in Spain

  • Araújo

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Arruda

    Rue plant, habitational name

  • Assis

    From Assisi, after Saint Francis

  • Assunção

    Assumption of the Virgin Mary

  • Azevedo

    Place of holly trees

B

  • Bacelar

    Vineyard of young vines

  • Bandeira

    Flag, standard bearer

  • Baptista

    Baptist, archaic spelling

  • Barbosa

    Habitational name, possibly from barba, beard, for a bushy place

  • Barcelos

    From the town of Barcelos

  • Barreiros

    Clay pits, habitational name

  • Barreto

    Cap, hat maker

  • Barros

    Clay, muddy ground

  • Barroso

    Muddy ground, clay soil

  • Bastos

    Habitational name from northern Portugal

  • Batista

    Baptist, from John the Baptist

  • Belo

    Handsome, a good-looking person

  • Bento

    Blessed, from Benedict

  • Bernardes

    Son of Bernardo

  • Bezerra

    Heifer, young cow

  • Bittencourt

    Brazilian, from French Béthencourt

  • Boaventura

    Good fortune, a lucky child

  • Bonfim

    Good end, from Our Lord of Bonfim

  • Borges

    Townsman, burgher

  • Braga

    From the city of Braga

  • Bragança

    From the city of Bragança

  • Branco

    White, fair-haired

  • Brandão

    Sword, from Germanic brand

  • Brasil

    From the country name, Brazilian

  • Brito

    Habitational name from northern Portugal

  • Bulhões

    Habitational name from Minho

C

  • Cabral

    Place of goats

  • Caetano

    From Gaeta, from Latin Caietanus

  • Caiado

    Whitewashed, pale-skinned person

  • Caldas

    Hot springs, habitational name

  • Caldeira

    Cauldron, cauldron maker

  • Camacho

    Possibly from a place name in the Algarve

  • Câmara

    Chamber, official of the town council

  • Camões

    Habitational name, borne by poet Luís de Camões

  • Campelo

    Small field, habitational name

  • Campos

    Fields

  • Canto

    Corner, edge

  • Cardoso

    Place of thistles

  • Carneiro

    Ram, shepherd

  • Carreira

    Road, path, dweller by a road

  • Carrilho

    Cheek or jaw, a nickname

  • Carvalho

    Oak tree

  • Cascais

    From the town of Cascais

  • Casimiro

    From Casimir, proclaimer of peace

  • Castanheira

    Chestnut tree

  • Castelo

    Castle, dweller by a castle

  • Castro

    Dweller near a castle or fort

  • Cavalcante

    Brazilian spelling of Cavalcanti, horseman

  • Cavalcanti

    Tuscan noble family name, horseman

  • Cerqueira

    Oak grove, habitational name

  • César

    From Caesar, the Roman title

  • Chagas

    Wounds, from the Five Wounds of Christ

  • Chaves

    Habitational name from the town of Chaves

  • Coelho

    Rabbit

  • Coimbra

    From the city of Coimbra

  • Colaço

    Foster brother, one nursed together

  • Conceição

    Immaculate Conception, devotional

  • Cordeiro

    Lamb, a shepherd

  • Correia

    Leather strap, strap maker

  • Cortez

    Courteous, polite, well-mannered

  • Costa

    Dweller on a slope or coast

  • Coutinho

    Little enclosed pasture

  • Couto

    Enclosed land, sanctuary

  • Crespo

    Curly-haired, a person with curls

  • Cristóvão

    From the given name Christopher

  • Cruz

    Cross

  • Cunha

    Wedge, or a place name in northern Portugal

D

  • Dantas

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Delgado

    Thin, slender, a lean person

  • Dias

    Son of Diogo

  • Dinis

    From Dionysius, the given name Denis

  • Domingues

    Son of Domingos

  • Dourado

    Golden, gilded, fair-haired

  • Duarte

    From the given name Duarte, Edward

E

  • Encarnação

    Incarnation, devotional name

  • Espinho

    Thorn, from the town of Espinho

  • Espírito Santo

    Holy Spirit, devotional name

  • Estêvão

    From the given name Stephen

  • Esteves

    Son of Estêvão

  • Estrela

    Star

  • Evangelista

    Evangelist, devotional name

F

  • Fagundes

    Son of Fagundo, Latin Facundus

  • Falcão

    Falcon, a falconer

  • Faria

    Habitational name from Braga

  • Farias

    Brazilian spelling of Faria

  • Farinha

    Flour, miller

  • Feijó

    Bean, bean grower

  • Feitosa

    Brazilian, from Feitosa in Minho

  • Félix

    From Latin Felix, lucky

  • Fernandes

    Son of Fernando

  • Ferraz

    Iron, an ironworker

  • Ferreira

    Ironworks, blacksmith's forge

  • Ferro

    Iron, a blacksmith

  • Fialho

    Of uncertain origin, possibly from fio, thread

  • Fidalgo

    Nobleman, son of something

  • Figueira

    Fig tree, dweller by one

  • Figueiredo

    Fig tree grove

  • Fonseca

    Dry spring

  • Fontes

    Springs, dweller by springs

  • Fortes

    Strong, a powerful person

  • Fragoso

    Rugged, rocky terrain

  • França

    From France, a Frenchman

  • Franco

    Free, or a Frank

  • Frazão

    Possibly from Frazão near Porto

  • Freire

    Friar, a member of a religious order

  • Freitas

    Broken ground, rocky land

  • Frias

    Cold place, habitational name

  • Frota

    Fleet, possibly a shipowner

  • Furtado

    Stolen, illegitimate child

G

  • Galvão

    From Gawain, or a Germanic name

  • Gama

    Fallow deer, borne by Vasco da Gama

  • Garcês

    Son of Garcia

  • Garcia

    Possibly from Basque, young or bear

  • Gaspar

    From the given name Gaspar, one of the Magi

  • Girão

    Possibly from Germanic Gerald

  • Godinho

    Little Godo, from Gothic

  • Godói

    Brazilian spelling of Godoy, from Galicia

  • Gomes

    Son of Gomes, from Gothic guma, man

  • Gonçalves

    Son of Gonçalo

  • Goulart

    Brazilian, from French Goulard

  • Gouveia

    Habitational name from Guarda

  • Graça

    Grace, from Our Lady of Grace

  • Grilo

    Cricket, a cheerful person

  • Guedes

    Son of Guede, from Germanic

  • Guerra

    War, a soldier

  • Guerreiro

    Warrior

  • Guilherme

    From the given name William

  • Guimarães

    From the city of Guimarães

  • Gusmão

    Portuguese form of Guzmán

H

  • Henriques

    Son of Henrique

J

  • Jardim

    Garden, a gardener

  • Jesus

    From the name of Jesus, devotional

  • Jorge

    From the given name George, farmer

  • Junqueira

    Rush bed, marsh with rushes

  • Justino

    From Latin Justinus, just

L

  • Lacerda

    Tuft of hair, bristle

  • Lage

    Flat stone, slab

  • Lameira

    Muddy place

  • Lapa

    Cave or grotto, from Our Lady of Lapa

  • Leal

    Loyal, faithful, a trustworthy person

  • Leão

    Lion, a brave person

  • Leitão

    Piglet, suckling pig

  • Leite

    Milk, a milk seller

  • Lemos

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Lima

    From the River Lima

  • Lins

    Brazilian, from German or Dutch Linz

  • Lira

    Lyre, Brazilian family name

  • Lisboa

    From the city of Lisbon

  • Lobo

    Wolf

  • Lopes

    Son of Lopo, wolf

  • Loureiro

    Laurel tree

  • Lourenço

    From Latin Laurentius, man from Laurentum

  • Louro

    Blond, or laurel

  • Lucena

    Habitational name from Andalusia

  • Luz

    Light, from Our Lady of Light

M

  • Macedo

    Apple orchard

  • Machado

    Axe, woodcutter

  • Macieira

    Apple tree, apple grower

  • Madeira

    Wood, timber, or the island

  • Magalhães

    Habitational name from Braga

  • Maia

    Habitational name near Porto

  • Malheiro

    Habitational name from Minho

  • Mamede

    From Saint Mammes

  • Mangueira

    Mango tree, Brazilian

  • Manso

    Gentle, tame, mild-mannered person

  • Marçal

    From Latin Martialis, of Mars

  • Marcelino

    From Latin Marcellinus

  • Marcos

    From the given name Mark

  • Mariano

    From Marianus, of Mars

  • Marinho

    Of the sea

  • Marques

    Son of Marcos

  • Martinho

    From the given name Martin

  • Martins

    Son of Martim

  • Mascarenhas

    Habitational name from Bragança

  • Matias

    From the given name Matthias

  • Matos

    Brushwood, scrubland

  • Mattos

    Brazilian spelling of Matos, brushwood

  • Medeiros

    Haystacks, place of hayricks

  • Meireles

    Habitational name from Minho

  • Melo

    Habitational name, possibly from merlo, blackbird

  • Mendes

    Son of Mendo

  • Mendonça

    Portuguese form of Mendoza, cold mountain

  • Menezes

    Habitational name from Meneses in Castile

  • Mesquita

    Mosque

  • Miranda

    Admirable, or a lookout place

  • Modesto

    Modest, from Latin

  • Moniz

    Son of Munio

  • Monteiro

    Huntsman, forester

  • Montenegro

    Black mountain, habitational name

  • Morais

    Mulberry trees

  • Moreira

    Mulberry tree grove

  • Morgado

    Heir to an entailed estate

  • Mota

    Mound, earthwork

  • Moura

    Moorish woman, or a place name

  • Mourão

    Moor, dark-skinned

  • Mourinho

    Little Moor, a dark-skinned person

  • Mouro

    Moor, dark-skinned person

  • Murta

    Myrtle, dweller by myrtle bushes

N

  • Nascimento

    Birth, the Nativity

  • Nazaré

    From Nazareth, devotional name

  • Negrão

    Big dark one

  • Neto

    Grandson, distinguishes from a grandfather

  • Neves

    Snows, from Our Lady of the Snows

  • Nobre

    Noble, a person of high birth

  • Nóbrega

    Habitational name from Minho

  • Nogueira

    Walnut tree

  • Noronha

    Habitational name from Asturias

  • Novais

    Newly cleared lands

  • Nóvoa

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Nunes

    Son of Nuno

O

  • Oliveira

    Olive tree

  • Ornelas

    Habitational name, possibly from Galicia

P

  • Pacheco

    Possibly from a Latin personal name, Paciecus

  • Padilha

    Portuguese form of Padilla, small pan

  • Pais

    Son of Paio, Pelagius

  • Paiva

    From the River Paiva

  • Palma

    Palm tree, or a pilgrim's palm

  • Parreira

    Grapevine trellis, a vine grower

  • Pedrosa

    Stony place, habitational name

  • Pedroso

    Stony, rocky ground

  • Peixoto

    Little fish, fisherman

  • Pena

    Crag, rock

  • Penha

    Crag, rock, from Our Lady of Penha

  • Pereira

    Pear tree

  • Peres

    Son of Pero, Peter

  • Pessoa

    Person, borne by poet Fernando Pessoa

  • Pimenta

    Pepper, a spice seller

  • Pimentel

    Pepper seller or grower

  • Pinheiro

    Pine tree

  • Pinho

    Pine wood, dweller by pines

  • Pinto

    Painted, spotted, freckled

  • Pires

    Son of Pero, Peter

  • Pontes

    Bridges, dweller by a bridge

  • Portela

    Mountain pass, gap

  • Portugal

    From the country name

  • Prado

    Meadow, dweller by a meadow

  • Prata

    Silver, a silversmith

  • Proença

    From Provence in France

Q

  • Quadros

    Frames, painter

  • Quaresma

    Lent, born during Lent

  • Queiroga

    Habitational name from Galicia

  • Queirós

    Habitational name from northern Portugal

  • Queiroz

    Habitational name, variant of Queirós

  • Quintal

    Backyard, small farm

  • Quintela

    Small farm, habitational name

R

  • Ramalho

    Branch, brushwood, dweller by scrub

  • Ramos

    Branches, Palm Sunday

  • Rangel

    Habitational name from Extremadura

  • Raposo

    Fox, a cunning person

  • Reis

    Kings, from Epiphany

  • Rezende

    Brazilian spelling of Resende

  • Ribeiro

    Dweller by a small river

  • Rios

    Rivers, dweller by rivers

  • Rocha

    Dweller near a rock

  • Rodrigues

    Son of Rodrigo

  • Rosa

    Rose

S

  • Sá

    Hall, manor house

  • Sales

    Habitational name, or from Saint Francis de Sales

  • Salvador

    Savior, a devotional name

  • Sampaio

    Saint Pelagius

  • Sanches

    Son of Sancho

  • Santana

    Saint Anne, a devotional name

  • Santos

    Saints, from All Saints Day

  • Serra

    Mountain range, saw

  • Silva

    Woodland, forest

  • Silveira

    Bramble thicket, habitational name

  • Simões

    Son of Simão

  • Siqueira

    Brazilian spelling of Sequeira

  • Soares

    Son of Soeiro

  • Sousa

    From the River Sousa, possibly from Latin salsa, salty

  • Souza

    Brazilian spelling of Sousa

T

  • Tavares

    Habitational name from Tavares, Viseu

  • Teixeira

    Yew tree grove

  • Teles

    Son of Telo, Germanic

  • Torres

    Towers, dweller near towers

V

  • Vale

    Valley, dweller in a valley

  • Valente

    Brave, strong

  • Vaz

    Son of Vasco

  • Veiga

    Fertile lowland meadow

  • Vicente

    From the given name Vincent

  • Vidal

    Vital, full of life

  • Vieira

    Scallop shell, pilgrim emblem

Generate random portuguese surnames

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Results (6)

  • Mota

    Mound, earthwork

  • Caiado

    Whitewashed, pale-skinned person

  • Resende

    Habitational name from Viseu

  • Veloso

    Hairy, shaggy, a bearded person

  • Cristóvão

    From the given name Christopher

  • Vidal

    Vital, full of life

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    Order and structure of Portuguese last names

    A Portuguese name usually has two to four surnames, and the order is the reverse of the Spanish custom. The mother's surname comes first and the father's surname comes last, so in João Pereira da Silva, Silva is the father's line and the name most people will use. Short linking words such as da, das, do, dos and de are common and are written in lowercase, as in Maria dos Santos or Luís de Sousa.

    Brazil follows the same pattern, although naming there is more flexible and some parents skip the mother's surname entirely. Women in both countries may add a husband's surname on marriage, but it is no longer required and many keep their names unchanged. For a character, the easiest approach is to choose two names from the list above, one for each parent, and remember that the last one is the name people will use in everyday life.

    Common Portuguese last names from trees, saints and fathers

    Silva is the most common surname in both Portugal and Brazil. It means forest or woodland, from the Latin silva. Santos (saints), Ferreira (ironworks or smith's place), Pereira (pear tree), Oliveira (olive tree), Costa (coast) and Carvalho (oak) follow closely. Patronymic names ending in -es mean son of: Rodrigues from Rodrigo, Fernandes from Fernando, Gonçalves from Gonçalo and Lopes from Lopo. Religious names such as Jesus and Conceição are also frequent in Portugal.

    A popular story says that Jews forced to convert in 1497 chose tree and plant names like Oliveira, Pereira and Carvalho to mark their origins. Historians treat this with caution, because these names were already common among Old Christian families and New Christians took every kind of surname. What is true is that many Sephardic families who later settled in Amsterdam, London and the Americas kept Portuguese surnames such as Mendes, Pinto, Cardozo and Henriques for centuries.

    Portuguese families in America and Hawaii

    Most Portuguese Americans trace their roots to the Azores and Madeira rather than to mainland Portugal. From the nineteenth century, whalers, fishermen and later mill workers settled in New Bedford, Fall River and other towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, while others went to the farms of California and the sugar plantations of Hawaii. Island surnames such as Medeiros, Furtado, Sousa, Silveira, Rego and Avila are especially frequent in these communities.

    Spellings shifted in America. Sousa often became Souza, Melo became Mello, and some names were anglicised entirely, so a Pereira family might be Perry today and a Rodrigues family might have become Rogers. If you research Portuguese ancestors, look for both forms and for the island parish, since Azorean church records are well preserved and increasingly available online. For fiction, an island name gives a New England or California character an authentic local touch.

    Frequently asked questions

    Which name is the most common among Portuguese last names?

    Silva. It is the most frequent surname in Portugal and Brazil and among Portuguese communities abroad. It means woods or forest. Santos, Ferreira, Pereira and Oliveira usually follow, though the exact order depends on the country and the year of the count.

    Why do Portuguese names have so many parts?

    Children often receive surnames from both parents, and some families add a grandparent's name or a surname they simply like. The linking words da, do, dos and de add length without adding a new surname. In daily life most people use only a first name and the final surname, so long names cause little trouble.

    Is Silva Portuguese or Spanish?

    Silva is mainly Portuguese and Galician, and it is also found in Spain, especially in the northwest. In the Americas, a Silva is more likely to have Brazilian or Portuguese roots, although the name also spread through Spanish colonies. Spanish speakers say SEEL-vah, while Portuguese speakers soften and shorten the vowels.

    Where can I find common Portuguese last names from the Azores?

    Island names such as Medeiros, Furtado, Silveira, Pacheco, Rego and Bettencourt are typical of the Azores, and Bettencourt goes back to Norman French settlers of the fifteenth century. Use the letter filter above to browse the list for them, and consult Azorean parish records if you are tracing a real family.

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