Brazilian Last Names That Will Wow You

 

Brazil is a country rich with culture, traditions and history. From this history, comes the origin of some of the most popular last names. Of all Brazilian last names, Silva ranks top as the most common surname in Brazil. Why is this?

Well, the meaning of the surname “Silva” is “Forest” or “Woodland”. This name became widely used because during the time of Brazilian colonization, many were unsure of which city or place they came from. Consequently, this name became widely adapted by those unsure of their origins.

Furthermore, because Brazil was colonized by Portugal, a lot of their names were eventually passed on and became common in Brazil. You will notice this when looking at the names we have compiled, as almost 90% of them are of Portuguese origin.

 

Most Popular Brazilian Last Names and Meanings

Listed below are some of the most popular Brazilian last names along with their meaning. The majority of these surnames are of Portuguese origin, and also popular as Portuguese last names (Portuguese Surnames).

Silva – Forest, Woodland.

Mota –  Someone that lives near a fort.

Lima – Someone that lives near a river.

Ferreira –  Blacksmith (Occupational)

Batista – Baptist

Gomes – Man

Rocha – Rock, Boulder.

Alves – Son of Alvaro.

Macedo – Apple grove

Schmidt – Blacksmith (This is also a common German last name and is of German origin)

Correia – Leather belt-maker.

Ramos – Someone that loves by a forest.

Morais – A Blackberry

Azevedo – Holly

Cavalcante  – Of Italian origin, an occupational name for a horse rider.

Moreira – Mulberry tree

Santos – Holy

Melo – Someone that is from Melo, Portugual.

Neves – Snow

Teixeira – Yew Tree

Campos – The countryside

Sousa –  Rocks, Stones. This name is taken after the river in Portugal.

Oliveira – Of the olive tree.

Pereira – Pear Tree

Carvalho – Oak

Almeida – Name of a city in Portugal called Almeida.

Costa – Rib

Ribeiro – Small creek or by the river.

Fernandes – Son of Fernando.

Montes – Hills

Noronha –  From a place called Noreña.

Lopes – Wolf

Esteves – Son of Stephen.

Carreira – Carter

Barreto – Occupational surname meaning hat maker.

Moniz – Son of Munio.

Luz – Light

Marques – Son of Marcus.

Cavaco – Log

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, you can read more of our worldlastnames.com articles below.

1. French Last Names
2. Arabic Last Names
3. Spanish Last Names
4. Polish Last Names
5. Swedish Last Names
6. Turkish Last Names
7. Vietnamese Last Names
8. Pakistani Last Names
9. Danish Last Names
10. Romanian Last Names