Is your last name popular? Do you know anyone else who has the same last name as you? Most likely, right?
Except for people whose families are of recent origin in Brazil, and who know their stories, Brazilians are generally unaware of their roots.
see more
School director intervenes delicately when noticing a student wearing a cap in…
Mother informs school that 4-year-old daughter, who prepares her lunch, can…
For example, according to recent data, more than 5 million Brazilians have the surname Silva, but few know why.
This surname is a more common surname in Portugal, which explains its intense participation in Brazil.
In fact, most of our surnames require us to return to Colonial Brazil to get to know them better.
Back to Colonial Brazil
In a recent survey by the Institute of Applied Research (Ipea) we learned that 87.5% of Brazilians have names of Iberian origin.
This means that most of our surnames, including Silva, Souza and Ferreira, come from either Portugal or Spain.
However, this does not mean that most Brazilians are direct descendants of Portuguese or Spanish.
In reality, the large number of people with these surnames indicates the historical fact that the native Brazilian population and Africans were “renamed”.
That is, upon arriving in Brazil, the Portuguese renamed the indigenous people and also renamed the blacks who came to Brazil enslaved.
Thus, there was an identity and ancestral loss of most Brazilians whose descendants received surnames from the house in which they were born.
The most common surnames in Brazil and their origins
The most common Brazilian surname, as expected, is the Silva surname, whose origin goes back to Portugal and became popular due to re-baptisms.
The name means “jungle” and its most ancient origins go back to the Roman Empire, as it is believed that it was used to call the inhabitants of the forests.
"Alves", which is the second most common surname in Brazil, refers to the father's name, "Álvares", being "Filho de Álvaro".
Meanwhile, the third most common name in Brazil, Batista (or Baptista) has a religious origin, meaning “the one who baptizes”.
Its origins go back to ancient Christian societies that made reference to Saint John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus Christ.
Finally, Oliveira, which is the 3rd most popular name in Brazil, is also of Iberian-Portuguese origin.
The name refers to the inhabitants of a land that had many olive trees.
So, did you like the content? Access the School Education and get to know many more curiosities and study materials that will help you. Access here!
