Brazil counted 203 million residents in its 2022 census, and the family names they carry hold the country’s whole history: Portuguese settlers, Spanish neighbors, Indigenous words, African roots, and later arrivals from Italy, Germany, and Japan.
One name towers over the rest. Silva belongs to roughly 34 million people, close to 17 percent of Brazilians, with Santos behind it at about 21.4 million (1).
Below are 100 Brazilian last names with their meanings, origins, pronunciations, and famous bearers, plus how often the ones that double as American first names show up in U.S. birth records.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Cruz, Miranda, Santana, Melo and Jacinto.
100 Popular Brazilian Surnames
Find out the stories behind traditional Brazilian last names you’ll always remember.
Almeida
Almeida is one of several Brazilian last names taken straight from a map. It marks a family as being from Almeida in Portugal. The name traces back to the Arabic almejia, describing the landing place of a staircase, which suits a settlement built in tiers. For a place name it wears surprisingly well on a person.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Flat land
- Pronunciation: Ael-MEY-dah
- Variations: Almaida
- Namesakes: Laurindo Almeida, a Brazilian guitarist and one of the creators of bossa nova. Aílton Almeida, a Brazilian footballer for F.C. Copenhagen.
- Popularity: Almeida ranked 403rd worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 43rd in 2014.
Alves
Alves is the patronymic answer to a simple question: whose son are you? Here the answer is Alvaro, a name that traveled through Spain and Portugal before settling into Brazilian records. A separate 13th-century Scottish surname spelled the same way means plain by a cliff and points to Alves in northern Scotland. Two unrelated families, one spelling, and centuries of coincidence.
- Origin: Brazilian, Scottish
- Meaning: Son of Alvaro
- Pronunciation: AHL-vehz
- Variations: Alvez
- Namesakes: Jéssika Alves, a Brazilian actress and co-host of TV Globinho. Maria Thereza Alves, a Brazilian-American artist who co-founded the Green Party of São Paulo in 1987.
- Popularity: Alves ranked 110th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 4th in 2014. It is also among the ten most common surnames in Brazil today. As a U.S. first name it last appeared in Social Security records at #4,307 back in 1920.
Amaral
Amaral began as farm talk. It described a plantation of the grape called amara, from the Latin word for bitter, and several spots in Portugal ended up named for those vines. A family who worked or owned that ground took the name with them when they crossed the Atlantic. It has the pleasant weight of something grown rather than granted.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Plantation of Amares
- Pronunciation: Ah-maa-RAHL
- Namesakes: Dante Amaral, a Brazilian volleyball player with the Brazil men’s national volleyball team. Sérgio Amaral, the Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade from 2001 to 2003.
- Popularity: Amaral ranked 1,552nd worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 141st in 2014.
Andrade
Andrade points to a place in Spain, though the name also reads as descendant of Andres, the Spanish form of Andrew, from the Latin andreas, meaning manly or strong. Brazilian bearers range from poets to fighters, matching that sense of force.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Andrade
- Pronunciation: Ahn-DRAH-dey
- Variations: Andrada, Andrado
- Namesakes: Fabrício Andrade, a Brazilian mixed martial artist and current ONE Bantamweight World Champion. Oswald Andrade, a Brazilian poet and member of the Group of Five.
- Popularity: Andrade ranked 454th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 57th in 2014. It has barely registered as a U.S. given name, last charting at #7,964 in 1989.
Antunes
Antunes marks the son of Antonio, one of the most reliable name-building moves in the Portuguese-speaking world. The chain runs back to the Roman Antonius, and the surname stayed in steady use in Brazil rather than fading into the archives. Say it aloud and the rhythm gives away its Latin ancestry.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Antonio
- Pronunciation: Ahn-TUW-nehs
- Variations: Antunez
- Namesakes: Arnaldo Antunes, a Brazilian musician and member of the rock band Titãs. Vitorino Antunes, a Portuguese footballer for F.C. Paços de Ferreira.
- Popularity: Antunes ranked 1,500th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 107th in 2014.
Aparecido
Aparecido is heavily concentrated in Sao Paulo, where it turns up as both a middle name and a family name. It rests on the Latin appareo, meaning to appear or become visible, built from ad, toward, and pareo, to be seen, and the religious echo in the name is plain enough on its own.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Manifest
- Pronunciation: Ah-Paar-eh-SIY-dow
- Variations: Aparcedo
- Namesakes: Leonardo Aparecido Moura, a Brazilian footballer for Santos. César Aparecido Rodrigues, a Brazilian footballer with the Brazilian National Team.
- Popularity: Aparecido ranked 1,058th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 56th in 2014.
Araújo
Araújo is a place name twice over, attached to more than one location in Spain and Portugal. Botanists borrowed it too: araujia sericifera is a climbing plant with pale, waxy flowers. Families named for a village tend to keep the tie long after anyone remembers the village itself.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Araújo
- Pronunciation: Ah-rah-UW-how
- Variations: Araúxo
- Namesakes: Taís Araújo, a Brazilian actress known for the telenovela Cobras & Lagartos (2006). Arturo Araujo, the president of El Salvador from March 1931 to December 1931.
- Popularity: Araújo is uncommon worldwide and mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 328th in 2014.
Assis
Assis carries a saint on its back. It grew from Assisi in Italy and marked a follower of Saint Francis, then traveled with Portuguese Catholicism into Brazil. Colonists frequently assigned it to enslaved Africans they baptized, so the name also records a painful piece of history rather than a simple pilgrimage. Assis is a city in Sao Paulo state as well.
- Origin: Brazilian, Italian
- Meaning: Follower of St. Francis
- Pronunciation: Ah-SEES
- Variations: Assisi
- Namesakes: Francisco Assis, a Portuguese member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2019. João Assis, a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the 2013 ADCC Submission Grappling World Champion.
- Popularity: Assis is rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil, ranking 207th in 2014.
Azevedo
Azevedo grows out of the Portuguese azevinho, the European holly. The Spanish Azevo means the same thing, and Acebedo names a place in Castile and Leon where the shrub grew thick. A holly hedge was a boundary marker long before fences were common. That is how a plant becomes a family name.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Holly
- Pronunciation: Ah-seh-VEY-dow
- Variations: de Acevedo, Aceveda
- Namesakes: Reinaldo Azevedo, a Brazilian columnist for the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. Eduardo Azevedo, a Brazilian race car driver and the 2002 South American Formula Three champion.
- Popularity: Azevedo ranked 1,843rd worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 49th in 2014.
Bahiense
Bahiense is a puzzle. Its exact meaning among Brazilian family names is unsettled, and the most convincing link is to Urbanodendron bahiense, a tree recorded around Rio de Janeiro. The ending, -ense, is a demonym suffix, so the name reads as of Bahia.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: Baa-hee-EHN-sey
- Popularity: Bahiense is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Brazil.
Barbosa
Barbosa gets read two ways, and both are plausible. As a place name it marks someone from Barbosa; as a nickname it belonged to a man with a notable beard, from the Spanish and Portuguese barba. Portugal used the bearded reading often enough that the joke outlived the man. It ranks among the more familiar surnames in Brazilian public life.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Bearded
- Pronunciation: Baar-BOW-sah
- Variations: Barbarossa
- Namesakes: Anderson Barbosa, a Brazilian striker footballer for Sociedade Esportiva do Gama. Frederico Barbosa, a Brazilian poet who won the 2008 São Paulo Prize for Literature.
- Popularity: Barbosa ranked 277th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 17th in 2014.
Barros
Barros describes the ground underfoot, since the Portuguese barro means clay loam, and the surname went to a family living in a damp, heavy-soiled place or on land newly broken for planting. Farmers knew exactly what that soil promised and what it cost to work.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Damp place
- Pronunciation: BAA-rohs
- Variations: de Barros, Barrios
- Namesakes: Leila Barros, a Brazilian politician, volleyball player, and winner of the 1998 volleyball Grand Prix. Pía Barros, a Chilean writer and part of the Generation of ’80.
- Popularity: Barros ranked 851st worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 76th in 2014.
Benites
Benites is one of many Brazilian last names that uses an “-a” suffix instead of the Spanish “-z.” It means “the son of Benito,” the Spanish form of Benedict, meaning “blessed.” Benites is also a village near Ávila, Spain.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Son of Benito
- Pronunciation: Beh-NIY-tehz
- Variations: Benitez
- Popularity: Benites is rare worldwide, primarily used in Peru, and ranked 679th in Brazil in 2014.
Bezerra
Bezerra is the Portuguese word for a female calf, and it started around Ponte de Lima in the north. Livestock names were rarely insults; they marked a herder, a holding, or a farm’s best-known animal. Researchers also connect Bezerra with Sephardi Jewish families in northern Portugal, which adds another layer to a plain farm word.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Heifer
- Pronunciation: Beh-ZEHR-aa
- Variations: Bezerro
- Namesakes: Eliana Bezerra, a Brazilian TV host of Eliana since 2009. José Bezerra (known as Ed Benes), a Brazilian comic book artist known for the DC Comics Supergirl.
- Popularity: Bezerra ranked 858th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 50th in 2014.
Borges
Borges reads as someone from Borja or a son of Borgo. It also carries the sense of belonging to the town rather than the countryside. The Arabic burdz, meaning tower, sits somewhere in its background. Between an Argentine fabulist and a Brazilian songwriter, the name has done well by the arts.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Bourgeois
- Pronunciation: BOAR-gehs
- Variations: Borjas
- Namesakes: Jorge Luis Borges, an Argentine short-story writer and member of the 20th-century magic realist movement. Lô Borges, a Brazilian founding member of the group Clube da Esquina.
- Popularity: Borges ranked 664th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 49th in 2014.
Cabral
Cabral comes from the Spanish cabra and the Latin capra, both meaning goat, and several places in Spain and Portugal were simply called the place of goats. A family named for a hillside pasture ended up on maps of half the world once Portuguese navigation got going. Plain roots, long reach.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Goat
- Pronunciation: Kaa-BRAAL
- Variations: Cabrales
- Namesakes: Donald Reid Cabral, the President of the Dominican Republic from 1963 to 1965. Sérgio Cabral Filho, the 61st governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2007 to 2014.
- Popularity: Cabral ranked 1,165th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 135th in 2014. In the United States it turns up as a first name only rarely, last charting at #5,307 in 1974.
Campos
Campos means fields, and it went to people who lived among them or came from the town of Campos in Spain, though pinning down which Campos is close to hopeless since more than 70 Spanish towns share the name. In Brazil it now sounds less like farmland and more like a family with deep records.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Field(s)
- Pronunciation: KAAM-pohs
- Variations: Campo, de Campo
- Namesakes: Bruno Campos, a Brazilian actor known for the sitcom Jesse. Edimo Ferreira Campos, a Brazilian footballer for Palmeiras.
- Popularity: Campos ranked 390th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 82nd in 2014.
Cardoso
Cardoso grew from the Spanish town of Cardoso, described as a place where thistles took over. Cardo is the thistle itself, and the ending marks the spot where the plant grew thickest. A president and a much-loved actress have carried it, so the weed name has done rather well.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Place of thistles
- Pronunciation: Kaar-DOW-soh
- Variations: Cardozo
- Namesakes: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the 34th president of Brazil from 1995 to 2002. Laura Cardoso, a Brazilian actress known for the telenovela Brilhante.
- Popularity: Cardoso ranked 386th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 35th in 2014.
Carvalho
Carvalho means oak tree, and any Portuguese village with a good stand of oaks was liable to end up with the name. Families took it from the land and then carried it outward. That is why Carvalho also appears in western India, a leftover of Portuguese colonial routes. Oaks were building material, pig feed, and boundary markers all at once.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Oak
- Pronunciation: Kaar-VAAL-ow
- Variations: de Carvalho, Carvallo
- Namesakes: Gracie Carvalho, a Brazilian model who appeared for Tommy Hilfiger in 2010. Luiz Fernando Carvalho, a Brazilian director known for To the Left of the Father (2001).
- Popularity: Carvalho ranked 564th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 41st in 2014.
Cerva
Cerva is one of the quieter Italian threads in Brazilian naming. La cerva means the doe, and the surname also turns up among families from the former Austro-Hungarian lands. Rare enough that most Brazilians will ask you to spell it.
- Origin: Brazilian, Italian
- Meaning: Doe
- Pronunciation: SEHR-vaa
- Popularity: Cerva is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Italy.
Cesario
Cesario traveled to South American culture from the Latin personal name Caesarius, a form of Caesar. In Italian, Cesario is also associated with “caesario,” meaning “wood coppice.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Latin
- Meaning: Of Caesar
- Pronunciation: Seh-SAA-riy-Oh
- Variations: Cesari, Cesare, Cesaro
- Namesakes: Jeff Cesario, an American writer for The Larry Sanders Show. Enzo Cesario, a Chilean racing cyclist and gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games.
- Popularity: Cesario is rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, ranking 484th in 2014. As an American first name it peaked at #1,703 in 1937 and has faded since, last charting at #12,663 in 2024.
Conceição
Conceição is the Portuguese word for conception and points directly at the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, from Maria da Conceicao. Devotional names like this were given at baptism and hardened into family names over generations, and it still sounds ceremonial in Portuguese and in Brazil today.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Conception
- Pronunciation: Koh-SAEY-sauw
- Variations: da Conceição
- Namesakes: Cleiton Conceição, a Brazilian boxer who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Ilda Conceição, the East Timorese Vice-Minister of Primary and Secondary Education from 2006 to 2007.
- Popularity: Conceição is rare worldwide, mostly used in Mozambique, and ranked 460th in Brazil in 2014.
Correia
Correia is the Portuguese word for a leather strap or belt, from the Latin corrigere, to straighten. It began as an occupational label for the person who cut, stitched, and sold those straps, back when a good belt was a considered purchase. The trade faded and the name stayed.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Leather strap
- Pronunciation: Coh-RIY-ah
- Variations: Correa
- Namesakes: Carlos Correia, the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 2015 to 2016. Larry Correia, an American fantasy writer known for his Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.
- Popularity: Correia ranked 698th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 74th in 2014.
Costa
Costa comes from the Latin costa, meaning side or flank, and it described someone living on a slope or a river bank. It is one of the ten most common surnames in Brazil today, short, steady, and hard to misspell in any language.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Dweller on a hillside
- Pronunciation: COHS-taa
- Variations: Costas, de Costa
- Namesakes: Larissa Costa, a Brazilian beauty queen who won Miss Brazil 2009. Viviane Costa, a Brazilian water polo player and bronze medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games.
- Popularity: Costa ranked 288th worldwide in a 2014 global surname index and is primarily used in Brazil; the 2022 Brazilian census puts it among the country’s ten most common surnames. It also holds on as a U.S. first name, ranked #6,886 in 2025.
Cruz
Cruz put a family at the cross, from the Latin crux. That could mean a wayside crucifix, a crossroads, or a place named La Cruz, and the ambiguity has never hurt it. The name spread across the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world and still travels easily, which is why it turns up as a first name in the United States too.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Dweller at a cross
- Pronunciation: CREWS
- Variations: de la Cruz
- Namesakes: Penélope Cruz, the only Spanish actress to win an Academy Award. Eva Cruz, a Puerto Rican volleyball player with the Puerto Rican national volleyball team.
- Popularity: Cruz ranked 158th worldwide, is mostly used in Mexico, and ranked 101st in Brazil in 2014. It is also the strongest American first name on this list, ranked #331 in 2025 by the Social Security Administration.
Cunha
Cunha attaches to a long list of places in Spain and Portugal, which is part of why its meaning is argued over: some link it to Cuinha, meaning kitchen, while others treat it as a Portuguese form of the Jewish Cohen. Few short surnames carry that much disagreement so lightly.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Kitchen
- Pronunciation: CUWN-yaa
- Namesakes: Arthur Cunha, a Brazilian footballer for Arema. Eduardo Cunha, the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from 2015 to 2016.
- Popularity: Cunha ranked 1,559th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 123rd in 2014.
Couto
Couto’s origin dates back to feudal times in Portugal when it referred to a “game reservation” or “feudal land.” This land was typically sectioned off and solely used for hunting.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Feudal land
- Pronunciation: COH-toh
- Variations: Coutos
- Namesakes: André Couto, a Portuguese race car driver who won the 2000 F3 Grand Prix. Fernando Couto, a Portuguese footballer for the Portugal national team.
- Popularity: Couto is rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 286th in 2014.
Dantas
Dantas uses the Spanish and Portuguese “da,” meaning “from (a location).” In this case, the place name is Antas in Portugal and Galicia.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Dantas
- Pronunciation: DAHN-tahs
- Namesakes: Damiris Dantas, a Brazilian basketball player and bronze medalist at the 2011 Under-19 World Championships. Ivonete Dantas, a member of the federal senate of Brazil from 2011 to 2015.
- Popularity: Dantas is uncommon worldwide and mostly used in Brazil, ranking 102nd in 2014.
Da Silva
Da Silva means of the forest, from the Latin silva, and it went to families living beside woodland, thicket, or scrub. It became the single most recognizable Brazilian family name, a default in registries and on team sheets alike. The Silva family, in all its spellings, is now larger than the population of most countries.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Of the forest
- Pronunciation: Daa-SIHL-vaa
- Variations: De Silva, Silva, Silveira
- Namesakes: Fernando Ramos da Silva, a Brazilian actor known for Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981). Benedita da Silva, the first female Afro-Brazilian governor of Rio de Janeiro.
- Popularity: Da Silva ranked 36th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked number one in 2014.
Delgado
Delgado started as a nickname for a thin person, from the Portuguese and Spanish delgado, meaning slender, and it reaches back further to the Latin delicatus, closer to dainty or delicate. Nickname surnames like this preserve a stranger’s offhand description of an ancestor, which is either charming or unfair depending on the day.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Slender, thin
- Pronunciation: Del-GAA-doh
- Variations: Delgadillo
- Namesakes: Álvaro Delgado, a Mexican journalist for El Nacional. María Chiquinquirá Delgado, a Venezuelan TV co-host of Mira Quien Baila.
- Popularity: Delgado ranked 395th worldwide, is primarily used in Mexico, and ranked 14th in Ecuador in 2014.
Dias
Dias marks the son of Diogo, the Portuguese counterpart of Diego and a relative of Jacob. It is also common in Goa, the former Portuguese colony in India, which shows how far the name traveled on shipping routes. Spelled Diaz across the border, it is the same family in a different accent.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Son of Diego
- Pronunciation: DEE-ahz
- Variations: Diaz
- Namesakes: Virna Dias, a Brazilian volleyball player and bronze medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics. André Dias, a Brazilian footballer for São Paulo.
- Popularity: Dias ranked 291st worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 26th in 2014.
Domingos
Domingos can refer to a “son of Domingo,” but is best recognized as the Spanish and Portuguese word for “Sunday.” It originated with the Latin “dominus,” meaning “lord,” to denote “the Lord’s day.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Sunday
- Pronunciation: Doh-MIHNG-ows
- Variations: Dominguez, Domingo
- Popularity: Domingos ranked 585th worldwide, is mainly used in Angola, and ranked 110th in Brazil in 2014. In U.S. birth records it peaked at #2,935 in 1919 and last charted at #8,082 in 1995.
Dos Santos
Dos Santos means of the saints. It points to All Saints Day, the feast that gave many Brazilian children their family name. The Latin sanctus behind it means holy one or sacred place. It sits second only to Silva in Brazilian records, so a Brazilian who has never met a dos Santos has not been paying attention.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Of the saints
- Pronunciation: Dohs-SAAN-tows
- Variations: Santo, Santos
- Namesakes: Nelson Pereira dos Santos, a Brazilian film director known for Vidas Secas (1963). Junior dos Santos, a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of Eagle FC.
- Popularity: Dos Santos ranked 71st worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 2nd in 2014. Santos is the second most common surname in the 2022 Brazilian census, recorded for about 21.4 million people.
Duarte
Duarte is the Portuguese form of Edward, carrying the old sense of guardian of property. It works as a first name and a surname without changing shape, which is unusual and useful. A province in the Dominican Republic wears it too.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Descendent of Duarte
- Pronunciation: DWAHR-teay
- Variations: Dewart
- Namesakes: Cláudio Duarte, a Brazilian sports commentator at RBS TV. Lima Duarte, a Brazilian actor appearing in the telenovela O Bem-Amado.
- Popularity: Duarte ranked 494th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 71st in 2014. As an American given name it charted from 1970 and dropped off after reaching #8,492 in 1990.
Faria
Faria is the name of Portuguese locations in Braga and Aveiro. It’s also an Italian surname based on the Greek “pharias,” from “pharos,” meaning “beacon lighthouse.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Faria
- Pronunciation: FAA-riy-Ah
- Namesakes: Fábio Faria, the Brazilian Minister of Communications from 2020 to 2022. Walter Faria, a Brazilian businessman who owns Grupo Petrópolis, Brazil’s second-largest-selling beer.
- Popularity: Faria ranked 1,810th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, which ranked 169th in 2014. It is a rare U.S. first name, best placed at #8,589 in 2009 and last recorded at #12,598 in 2024.
Fernandes
Fernandes means “son of Ferdinand” in Spanish, with Ferdinand meaning “bold voyager.” It’s made up of the Spanish “faro,” meaning “journey,” and “nano,” meaning “brave.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Ferdinand
- Pronunciation: Fer-NAEN-dehs
- Variations: Fernandez
- Namesakes: Flávia Fernandes, a Brazilian water polo player and bronze medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games. Mário Fernandes, a Russian footballer for Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- Popularity: Fernandes ranked 236th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 23rd in 2014.
Ferreira
Ferreira came from the forge, since the Latin ferraria means ironworks, and the name went to a family living or working where iron was heated and hammered. Every settlement of any size needed one, which is part of why Ferreira sits among the ten most common surnames in Brazil.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Ironworks
- Pronunciation: Feh-RAER-ah
- Variations: Ferreiro, Ferraria
- Namesakes: Gabriel Costa, the 10th prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2012 to 2014. Alexandre Ferreira, a Brazilian mixed martial artist for the UFC.
- Popularity: Ferreira ranked 103rd worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it sits among the country’s ten most common surnames in the 2022 census.
Fonseca
Fonseca marks a dweller near a dry well or spring. The Spanish town of the same name pairs fuente, fountain, with seca, dry, which is a slightly bleak thing to name your home after. Water, or its absence, decided where people settled and what they called the place.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Dry well
- Pronunciation: Fohn-SEH-kaa
- Variations: Fonsêca
- Namesakes: Carlos Fonseca, a Brazilian boxer who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Manuel da Fonseca, the first President of Brazil from 1889 to 1891.
- Popularity: Fonseca ranked 941st worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 113th in 2014.
Fontes
Fontes represents many place names in Spain and Portugal and is taken from “fonte,” meaning “fount” or “spring.” Fontes is a town located in Santa Marta de Penaguião, Portugal.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Spring
- Pronunciation: FAWN-tehs
- Variations: Fondes
- Namesakes: Flavia Fontes, a Brazilian-American filmmaker known for Forbidden Wedding. Wayne Fontes, an American football coach for the Detroit Lions.
- Popularity: Fontes is rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 329th in 2014.
Freitas
Freitas rests on the Latin fracta, meaning broken, and describes stony, broken ground. A family named for rough terrain was usually the family that farmed it anyway. The name is common enough in Brazil to feel plain. It is also old enough to feel solid.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Broken stones
- Pronunciation: FRAY-tahs
- Variations: Frietas, Freites
- Namesakes: Acelino Freitas, a Brazilian boxer and the WBO super featherweight champion from 1992 to 2004. Miguel Freitas, a Portuguese racing driver who competed in the 2006 Mégane Trophy Eurocup.
- Popularity: Freitas ranked 964th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 73rd in 2014.
Garcia
Garcia went to any descendant of Garcia, itself the Spanish counterpart of Gerald, from the Germanic Girard meaning brave spear. It is one of the great surnames of the Spanish-speaking world and crossed into Brazil with families who moved between the two empires. The spear is long gone; the name is everywhere.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Descendent of Garcia
- Pronunciation: Gahr-SIY-ah
- Variations: Garsea
- Namesakes: Léa Garcia, a Brazilian actress known for Black Orpheus (1959). Rebecca Garcia, a representative in the 54th Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from 2011 to 2014.
- Popularity: Garcia ranked 47th worldwide, is mainly used in Mexico, and ranked 67th in Brazil in 2014. As a U.S. first name it peaked at #2,209 in 1958 and last charted at #12,710 in 2015.
Goettems
Goettems is one of the rarest surnames on this list and traces to Saarland in Germany. Most Brazilians who carry it live near Sao Leopoldo in Rio Grande do Sul, where German-speaking settlers concentrated, and a surname this localized doubles as a map reference.
- Origin: Brazilian, German
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: GOUW-eh-Tehms
- Variations: Goedems
- Popularity: Goettems is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil.
Gomes
Gomes comes from the Visigothic guma, meaning man, and served as a familiar form of Joao. Outside Brazil and Portugal it usually shows up as Gomez, with the same family behind both spellings. Short, blunt, and about as old as surnames get on the peninsula.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Man
- Pronunciation: GOH-Mehz
- Variations: Gomez
- Namesakes: Bruno Gomes, a Brazilian footballer for Nacional. Anthony Gomes, a Canadian musician known for the 1998 album Blues in Technicolor.
- Popularity: Gomes ranked 150th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 10th in 2014.
Gonçalves
Gonçalves means “descendant of Gonçalo,” a male given name meaning “battle” or “war.” It has German origins composed of “gunthi,” meaning “combat,” and “vus,” meaning warrior.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Descendent of the warrior man
- Pronunciation: Goan-SAHL-vehs
- Namesakes: Khalid Gonçalves, an American actor known for the play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God. Vasco Gonçalves, the 104th Prime Minister of Portugal from 1974 to 1975.
- Popularity: Gonçalves ranked 703rd worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 78th in 2014.
Gouveia
Gouveia is a village in the Portuguese province of Beira Baixa. It first appeared as the Latin Gaudela and Goudela and is not an everyday name.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Gouveia
- Pronunciation: Gow-VEAY-ah
- Variations: Gouveias
- Namesakes: Antônio Gouveia, a Brazilian former volleyball player who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Tala Gouveia, an English actress known for the series McDonald & Dodds since 2020.
- Popularity: Gouvea is rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 349th in 2014.
Guimarães
Guimarães is a city in northern Portugal located in Braga. It’s said to be linked to an old Germanic first name but is typically found whenever Portuguese colonists settled.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: City in Portugal
- Pronunciation: Giy-MAA-raez
- Namesakes: Agberto Guimarães, a Brazilian runner and gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games. Natália Guimarães, a Brazilian model, crowned Miss Brazil 2007.
- Popularity: Guimarães is rare worldwide, mostly used in Angola, and ranked 603rd in Brazil in 2014.
Jacinto
Jacinto is named for the hyacinth and, further back, for Hyacinthus, the Spartan prince of Greek myth. It works for men and, as Jacinta, for women, and flower names like this tend to fall out of use and then return, exactly as Jacinto has in American birth records.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Hyacinth
- Pronunciation: Zhah-SIYN-tow
- Namesakes: Andreia Jacinto, a Portuguese for Real Sociedad. Ramón Jacinto, a Filipino TV personality who founded the radio station DZRJ.
- Popularity: Jacinto is rare worldwide, mainly used in Angola, and ranked 796th in Brazil in 2014. It is the biggest comeback story on this list in U.S. birth data, recovering roughly 3.7 times over since a 1947 low point, and it ranked #2,857 in 2025.
Jatobá
Jatoba is the common name of Hymenaea courbaril, a hardwood that grows through the Caribbean and Central and South America. A river in eastern Brazil carries it as well. Indigenous plant words like this one are the part of Brazilian naming that could not have come from Europe.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Type of tree
- Pronunciation: Zhaa-TOH-baa
- Namesakes: Carlos Jatobá, a Brazilian footballer for Atlético Paranaense. Carlos Jatobá, a Brazilian footballer for Politehnica Iași.
- Popularity: Jatobá is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Brazil.
Jesús
Jesús represents the Latin form of the Greek Iēsous, taken from the Hebrew name Yeshua. Named for Jesus Christ, it’s an example of religious Brazilian last names that have lasted centuries.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Jesus
- Pronunciation: ZHIY-sus
- Variations: De Jesús
- Namesakes: Jorge Jesus, a Portuguese football manager of Al Hilal. Juan Jesus, a Brazilian footballer for Napoli.
- Popularity: Jesús is rare worldwide, mostly used in Portugal, and ranked 825th in Brazil in 2014.
Kayano
Kayano sits at the meeting point of two naming traditions. In Japanese it means plains or field, and it arrived in Brazil with immigrant families rather than with Portuguese colonists. Japan’s foreign ministry counted about 2 million people of Japanese descent in Brazil in 2022, the largest such community anywhere outside Japan (2). That history is why a Japanese surname reads as fully Brazilian.
- Origin: Brazilian, Japanese
- Meaning: Plain
- Pronunciation: Kaey-AH-noh
- Namesakes: Ai Kayano, a Japanese voice actress appearing in the 2011 series, Guilty Crown. Kayano Gonbei, a Japanese samurai who took part in the 18th-century Boshin War.
- Popularity: Kayano is rare worldwide and mainly used in Japan.
Leite
Leite is the Portuguese word for milk. It also served as a nickname for someone with a pale complexion. There is a German thread too, through Aleit(e), a girl’s name built on Adelheid. Food-word surnames sound odd in translation and completely normal in Portuguese.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Milk
- Pronunciation: LEIY-teh
- Variations: Leete
- Namesakes: Cláudia Leite, a Brazilian singer for the group Babado Novo. Eduardo Leite, the governor of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul since 2023.
- Popularity: Leite ranked 1,042nd worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 63rd in 2014.
Lima
Lima marks someone from Lima, understood as a place of lime trees, and in Portugal specifically someone living along the Lima River. Read through the Latin lima it means metal file instead, which is a very different picture. It is one of the ten most common surnames in Brazil and short enough to survive any spelling.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: From Lima
- Pronunciation: LEE-maa
- Namesakes: Adriana Lima, a Brazilian model and Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1999 to 2018. Maurício Lima, a Brazilian volleyball player and gold medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Lima ranked 281st worldwide in a 2014 global surname index and is mostly used in Brazil; the 2022 census lists it among the country’s ten most common surnames. It also appears as an American first name, ranked #9,832 in 2025.
Livramento
Livramento’s only meanings include “release” or “liberation.” It otherwise means “freedom” and is included in four place names – three in Brazil and one in Portugal.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Release
- Pronunciation: Leeva-raa-MEHN-tow
- Variations: De Livramento
- Namesakes: Valentino Livramento, an English footballer for Newcastle United.
- Popularity: Livramento is rare worldwide, mainly used in Brazil, and ranked 80th in Cape Verde in 2014.
Lopes
Lopes means son of the wolf, from the Latin lupus, and also son of Lopo. The same root gives Lupo in Italian and Lupu in Romanian, so the wolf ran across most of Latin Europe, and spelled Lopez it is one of the biggest surnames in the Americas.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of the wolf
- Pronunciation: LOW-pehz
- Variations: Lopez
- Namesakes: Adriane Lopes, the mayor of Campo Grande, Brazil since 2022. Ana Paula Lopes, a Portuguese-Canadian entrepreneur, ranked one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2013.
- Popularity: Lopes ranked 252nd worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 20th in 2014.
Lustosa
Lustosa originates with the Latin “lusto,” meaning “desirable” or “attractive.” It’s paired with the Spanish and Portuguese “-osa” suffix given to a woman.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Attractive woman
- Pronunciation: Luw-STOW-zha
- Variations: Lustósa
- Namesakes: Matheus Lustosa, a Brazilian actor known for Z4 (2018).
- Popularity: Lustosa is rare worldwide and mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 727th in 2014.
Machado
Machado means axe or hatchet and worked as both an occupational name and a nickname, from the Portuguese machar, to cut. Tool names usually belonged to the person who used the tool professionally, though a reputation for temper could earn one too. It has stayed common in Brazil for centuries.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Axe
- Pronunciation: Maa-SHAH-dow
- Variations: Machados
- Namesakes: Cristian Machado, a Brazilian-American member of the band Lions at the Gate. Luis Alberto Machado, the Secretary of the Presidency from 1969 to 1974.
- Popularity: Machado ranked 453rd worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 45th in 2014.
Maciel
Maciel is one of the less common Brazilian surnames with a French route into Portugal. It comes from macieira, the apple tree. It also doubles as a Polish name built on Maciej, the local Matthew. Orchard names are gentle for a surname, which may be the appeal.
- Origin: Brazilian, French
- Meaning: Apple tree
- Pronunciation: Maa-siy-EHL
- Namesakes: Maciel Santos, a Brazilian boccia player and gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Lucas Maciel, a Brazilian footballer for the New England Revolution.
- Popularity: Maciel ranked 1,499th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 103rd in 2014. It is the rarest U.S. given name on this list, ranked #13,182 in 2025, or about one birth in 333,333.
Magalhães
Magalhães is linked to the Celtic “magal,” meaning “the great,” and is a place name in Portugal. It may be linked to Sephardic Jewish communities on the Iberian peninsula and is a Portuguese version of Magellan.
- Origin: Brazilian, Celtic
- Meaning: The great
- Pronunciation: Maa-gahl-YAESH
- Variations: Magalhaes
- Namesakes: Antônio Carlos Magalhães, a three-time governor of Bahia, Brazil. Marcos Magalhães, a Brazilian short film director known for the 1986 animated film Planet Earth.
- Popularity: Magalhães is rare worldwide, mostly used in Angola, and ranked 194th in Portugal in 2014.
Martins
Martins indicates “the son of Martin,” based on the Latin boy’s name Martinus. Its original root is Mars, the name of the Roman god of fertility and war.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Son of Martin
- Pronunciation: MAAR-tiynz
- Variations: Martin
- Namesakes: Caroline Martins, a Brazilian handball player for Fredrikstad BK. Franklin Martins, the press secretary for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Popularity: Martins ranked 225th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 16th in 2014. It has only ever charted once as a U.S. first name, at #13,360 in 2020.
Masvidal
Masvidal’s origins are in Catalonia, Spain, and refer to a “mas,” or house located in a rural area outside a village. Masvidal is also the term for the owner of said house.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Rural house owner
- Pronunciation: MAHS-vih-Daal
- Namesakes: Paul Masvidal, an American musician who founded the band Cynic. Jorge Masvidal, an American mixed martial artist who won the symbolic UFC “BMF” Championship belt.
- Popularity: Masvidal is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Spain.
Matarazzo
Matarazzo is the name of several places located in Spain and Portugal. It uses the Spanish “mata,” meaning “forest,” and is also an Italian name based on “matarazzu,” meaning “mattress.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Italian
- Meaning: Forest
- Pronunciation: Maa-taa-RAH-zoh
- Variations: Materazzo
- Namesakes: Heather Matarazzo, an American actress known for Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995). Andrea Matarazzo, the Brazilian City Councillor of São Paulo from 2013 to 2017.
- Popularity: Matarazzo is rare worldwide and mostly used in Italy.
Melo
Melo comes from the Portuguese melro, the blackbird, by way of the Latin merulus. It also marks someone from the town of Melo and serves as an Italian short form for names ending in melo. Songbird names carry well, and this one is climbing fast as an American first name.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Blackbird
- Pronunciation: MEAY-low
- Variations: de Melo
- Namesakes: Daniel Melo, a Brazilian tennis player who won the 2001 Brazil Open doubles title. Andrés Granier Melo, the Governor of Tabasco, Mexico from 2007 to 2015.
- Popularity: Melo ranked 1,007th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 96th in 2014. It is the fastest-rising U.S. first name on this list, up about 382 percent when the last 10 years of births are set against the 10 before them, and ranked #2,297 in 2025.
Mendes
Mendes belongs to the son of Mendo or Mendel, names descended from the medieval Menendo and the Visigothic Hermenegildo, which carried the sense of complete sacrifice, a heavy origin for a name that now sounds light and modern. Musicians on two continents have kept it in circulation.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Mendo
- Pronunciation: MEHN-dez
- Variations: Mendez
- Namesakes: Eva Mendes, an American actress known for Training Day (2001). Sérgio Mendes, a Brazilian musician with the band Brasil ’66.
- Popularity: Mendes ranked 380th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 37th in 2014.
Miranda
Miranda went to people from places called Miranda in Spain and Portugal, built on the Spanish mirar, to look, with the sense of worthy of admiration. It has worked as a girl’s first name for generations, which is rarer for a surname than you might think. The double life gives it staying power.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Worthy of admiration
- Pronunciation: Mih-RAAN-daa
- Variations: de Miranda, Mirandas
- Namesakes: Leandro Miranda, the current Brazilian head coach for Boavista. Marcos Miranda, a Brazilian chess player and the 1974 Brazilian Chess Champion.
- Popularity: Miranda ranked 324th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 65th in 2014. It is the steepest faller on this list as a U.S. first name, down about 58 percent when the last 10 years of births are set against the 10 before them, though it still ranked #656 in 2025 after a 1995 high of #57.
Moreira
Moreira has roots in Galicia. It names towns near Lugo, Tuy, and Compostela. It comes from the Spanish morera, the mulberry tree, and marked places known for them. Mulberries fed silkworms as well as people, so a mulberry town was an industrial address in its day.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Mulberry Tree
- Pronunciation: Mow-RAEY-ah
- Variations: Moreiro
- Namesakes: Airto Moreira, a Brazilian jazz drummer with the ensemble Quarteto Novo. Leonardo Fernandes Moreira, a Brazilian member of the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais from 2003 to 2011.
- Popularity: Moreira ranked 369th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 30th in 2014.
Moura
Moura is a city in Portugal known for the legend of a Moorish princess. Moor refers to the predominantly Muslim people of North Africa who settled in southern Spain.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Moor
- Pronunciation: MAOR-ah
- Variations: Mauro
- Namesakes: Confúcio Moura, the governor of Rondônia, Brazil, from 2011 to 2018. Mayana Moura, a Brazilian actress known for Time and the Wind (2013).
- Popularity: Moura ranked 1,413th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 88th in 2014.
Nascimento
Nascimento means birth or nativity in Portuguese, and it was given to children born at Christmas as well as to families who took the feast as their name. It still doubles as a given name for a baby born on Christmas Day. Few surnames announce their own origin story quite so plainly.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Birth
- Pronunciation: NAA-siy-MYehn-toh
- Variations: Do Nascimento
- Namesakes: Emanuel Nascimento, a Brazilian swimmer who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Norton Nascimento, a Brazilian actor appearing in Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil (1995).
- Popularity: Nascimento ranked 571st worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 38th in 2014.
Nogueira
Nogueira is a form of Nogales, from the Latin “nucalis,” meaning “walnut tree.” It’s the name for places in Portugal and Galicia known for their abundance of walnut trees.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Walnut tree
- Pronunciation: Now-GUIY-raa
- Variations: Noguera, Noguero
- Namesakes: Paulinho Nogueira, a Brazilian guitarist known for designing the craviola guitar. Lucas Nogueira, a Brazilian basketball player with the Atlanta Hawks.
- Popularity: Nogueira ranked 1,050th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 62nd in 2014.
Nunes
Nunes means “son of Nuno” in Portuguese and may also derive from the Latin “nonus,” meaning “ninth.” When taken from “nunnus,” it means “grandfather,” and from “nonnus,” it means “squire.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Nuno
- Pronunciation: NUW-nehs
- Variations: Nuñez
- Namesakes: Lygia Bojunga Nunes, a Brazilian children’s book author who won the 1982 Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Valmir Nunes, a Brazilian runner who currently holds the South American and Brazilian Ultramarathon records.
- Popularity: Nunes ranked 398th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 31st in 2014.
Oliveira
Oliveira means olive grove, from the Latin olivarius, and names several places in Portugal and Galicia; it is among the ten most common surnames in Brazil today. It may also be a Sephardic Jewish surname adopted during the Portuguese Inquisition by families forced to convert, which makes an orchard name a record of survival.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Olive grove
- Pronunciation: Oh-liy-VAEY-raa
- Variations: de Oliveira
- Namesakes: Christianne Oliveira, a Brazilian actress known for the series Night and Day (2001 to 2003). Fernanda Oliveira, a Brazilian lead principal ballet dancer with the English National Ballet.
- Popularity: Oliveira ranked 196th worldwide in a 2014 global surname index and is mainly used in Brazil; the 2022 Brazilian census puts it third among all Brazilian surnames.
Ortega
More than one village is named Ortega in the Spanish areas of Burgos, La Coruna, and Jaen. It comes from the Spanish “ortiga,” meaning “nettles,” for places known to have many.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Nettles
- Pronunciation: Ohr-TAEY-gaa
- Variations: de Ortega, Ortego
- Namesakes: José Ortega, the President of Nicaragua since 2007. José Ortega, a Spanish boxer who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Ortega ranked 385th worldwide, is primarily used in Mexico, and ranked 20th in Puerto Rico in 2014. It has charted only once as a U.S. first name, at #3,822 in 1958.
Palmeira
Palmeira builds on palma, palm, and describes the tree rather than the hand. It names a municipality in Parana and three more places elsewhere in Brazil. Palms mark the tropics the way oaks mark Portugal, so this is one of the names that could only have settled here.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Palm tree
- Pronunciation: Paal-MEE-rah
- Variations: Palmera, Palmeiras
- Popularity: Palmeira is rare worldwide and mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 581st in 2014.
Parahyba
Parahyba, now usually spelled Paraiba, is a state in northeastern Brazil known for its coastline and its farmland. The older spelling survives mostly in family names and old documents, and carrying it is a little like carrying a hometown that has since changed its address.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Brazilian place name
- Pronunciation: Pah-RAEY-baa
- Variations: Paraiba
- Popularity: Parahyba is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil.
Pereira
Pereira comes from pera and means pear tree, and it names villages near Orense, Lugo, Compostela, Tuy, and Mondonedo. It ranks among the ten most common surnames in Brazil, which is a lot of families descended from one kind of orchard. Fruit-tree names were the address system before street numbers.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Pear tree
- Pronunciation: Peh-RAEY-raa
- Variations: Pereyra, Perera
- Namesakes: Julio César Pereyra, the mayor of Florencio Varela, Argentina, since 2003. James Pereira, a Brazilian boxer and bronze medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games.
- Popularity: Pereira ranked 90th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 3rd in 2014, and it remains one of the ten most common surnames in the 2022 census.
Peres
Peres means descendant of Pedro, sometimes appearing as Pero. It is the Portuguese cousin of the Spanish Perez. Pedro itself goes back to the sense of rock. A name built on stone has held up about as well as you would expect.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Pedro
- Pronunciation: PEH-rez
- Variations: Pérez
- Namesakes: Waldir Peres, a Brazilian footballer for the Brazil national team. Sonia Peres, the first lady of Israel from 2007 to 2011.
- Popularity: Peres is rare worldwide and mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 224th in 2014.
Pinheiro
Pinheiro means pine tree, so it went to families living near a pine forest. It also names a river and a district in Sao Paulo, along with other spots around the country. Pine resin, pine timber, and pine nuts made these woods worth living beside.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Pine tree
- Pronunciation: Pin-YEHR-ow
- Variations: Piñero
- Namesakes: Nuno Pinheiro, a Portuguese volleyballer for S.L. Benfica. Helô Pinheiro, a Brazilian model who inspired the 1962 song The Girl from Ipanema.
- Popularity: Pinheiro ranked 830th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 52nd in 2014.
Pinto
Pinto is a nickname meaning “colorful” and “painted.” It also means “chick” and comes from the Latin “pinctus.” Pinto can refer to a “lively or restless person.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Colorful
- Pronunciation: PIHN-toh
- Variations: La Pinto
- Namesakes: John Pinto, an American member of the New Mexico Senate from 1977 to 2019. Dirceu Pinto, a Brazilian Paralympic boccia player and gold medalist at the 2012 Paralympics.
- Popularity: Pinto ranked 391st worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 58th in 2014.
Pires
Like Peres, Pires is a unique spelling of the Spanish Pérez, meaning “son of Pedro (Peter).” It’s also sometimes a unique English form of Pierce.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Son of Pedro
- Pronunciation: PIY-rehs
- Variations: Peres
- Namesakes: Cleo Pires, a Brazilian actress appearing in the series Memorial de Maria Moura (1984). Pedro Pires, the president of Cape Verde from 2001 to 2011.
- Popularity: Pires ranked 896th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, ranking 66th in 2014.
Pitanga
Pitanga is an Indigenous word for a small cherry native to Brazil, and a town in Parana carries it too. When Europeans arrived there were already some 250 peoples living across the territory, including the Tupi-Guarani, whose vocabulary supplied names like this one. The fruit is still sold on street corners.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Brazilian cherry
- Pronunciation: Pih-TAANG-ah
- Variations: Pitangui
- Namesakes: Camila Pitanga, a Brazilian actress known for Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury (2013).
- Popularity: Pitanga is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil.
Queiroz
Queiroz comes from the Portuguese queiro, meaning heather, and described stretches of the Iberian peninsula where the shrub covered the ground. Related forms turn up in ancient Greek with the sense of stronger or stone. Heather grows where farming is hard, which tells you something about the families who lived there.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Heather
- Pronunciation: KHEE-roys
- Namesakes: Agnelo Queiroz, the Governor of the Federal District of Brazil from 2011 to 2014. Francisca Queiroz, a Brazilian actress known for the series A Lei e o Crime.
- Popularity: Queiroz is uncommon worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 127th in 2014.
Ramone
Ramone is based on the Spanish first name Raimundo, made up of the Germanic “ragin,” meaning “advice,” and “mund,” meaning “protector.” It’s also the French feminine spelling for Ramon.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Counsel protector
- Pronunciation: Raa-MOUWN
- Variations: Ramon
- Namesakes: Phil Ramone, a South African-American record producer who co-founded A & R Recording in 1958. Michael Ramone, the minority leader of the Delaware House of Representatives since 2023.
- Popularity: Ramone is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Lesotho, ranking 412th in 2014. As a U.S. first name it peaked at #1,007 in 1984 and still charted at #4,354 in 2025.
Reis
Reis means “descendant of Riso” in German and dates back to the Middle Ages. It’s best known for meaning “king” and was also the name of Brazil’s currency until 1942.
- Origin: Brazilian, German
- Meaning: Kings
- Pronunciation: REAYS
- Variations: Reiss, Reisse
- Namesakes: Nando Reis, a Brazilian singer with the rock band Titãs. António Reis, a Portuguese director known for The School of Reis style.
- Popularity: Reis ranked 1,006th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 80th in 2014. It has charted as a U.S. given name since 1982, peaked at #2,214 in 2000, and has slipped to #8,104 in 2025.
Ribeiro
Ribeiro means small creek or by the river, and it marked someone whose house sat beside running water. In a country of enormous rivers, a name about a modest stream feels almost understated. It is one of the more common Brazilian surnames and one of the easiest to picture.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Small creek
- Pronunciation: Rih-BAER-oh
- Variations: Ribero
- Namesakes: André Ribeiro, a Brazilian racing driver for CART from 1995 to 1998. Laís Ribeiro, a Brazilian model and a Victoria’s Secret Angel.
- Popularity: Ribeiro ranked 231st worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 13th in 2014.
Rocha
Rocha means rock or boulder in Portuguese and also carries the sense of land cleared of weeds. It went to families living near rocky ground, the sort of terrain that shapes a farm’s whole personality. There is a city called Rocha in southeastern Uruguay as well.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Boulder
- Pronunciation: ROW-shaa
- Variations: Roche, De la Rocha
- Namesakes: Antônio Cavilhas Rocha, a Brazilian chess player and two-time Brazilian Chess Championship winner. Roberto Carlos, a Brazilian footballer for Real Madrid.
- Popularity: Rocha ranked 421st worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 46th in 2014.
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning famous ruler, and also marks the son of Rodrigo. Spelled Rodriguez it becomes one of the biggest surnames in the Americas. It sits among the ten most common family names in Brazil, so the famous ruler ended up with a very large family.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Rodrigo
- Pronunciation: Rod-RIY-gehz
- Variations: Rodriguez
- Namesakes: Nelson Rodrigues, a Brazilian playwright known for the 1943 play Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress). Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, the Portuguese President of the Assembly of the Republic from 2015 to 2022.
- Popularity: Rodrigues ranked 129th worldwide and is mainly used in Brazil, ranking 6th in 2014, and it is one of the ten most common surnames in the 2022 Brazilian census. As a U.S. first name it peaked at #3,561 in 1978 and last charted at #10,078 in 2000.
Romero
Romero began as a nickname for “Romans,” traveling as pilgrims from west to east toward the holy land. It literally means “a pilgrim” or “one who visits a shrine.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: Roman
- Pronunciation: Roh-MAER-oh
- Variations: Romera
- Namesakes: George A. Romero, an American-Canadian filmmaker known for Night of the Living Dead (1968). Roberto Romero, an Argentine businessman who founded the El Tribuno newspaper.
- Popularity: Romero ranked 210th worldwide, is primarily used in Mexico, and ranked 11th in Argentina in 2014. It has charted as a U.S. first name since 1937 and stood at #2,978 in 2025.
Santana
Santana went to people living in the many Spanish and Portuguese places called Santana or Santa Ana, named for Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. Devotional place names like this spread with the church rather than with any one family. It also has a long second life as an American given name.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Holy
- Pronunciation: Saan-TAAN-ah
- Namesakes: Alencar Santana, the Brazilian minority leader of the Chamber of Deputies since 2022. Suso Santana, a Spanish footballer for CD Tenerife.
- Popularity: Santana ranked 433rd worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 47th in 2014. It is also a well-used American first name, ranked #855 in 2025 after a recent high of #544 in 2020.
Sardinha
Sardinha is the Portuguese word for sardine and worked as an occupational name for someone who caught or sold them. It could also be an unkind nickname, and the fish trade produced plenty of those. Along the Portuguese coast the sardine was food, wage, and festival all in one.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Sardine
- Pronunciation: Saar-DEEN-yha
- Variations: Sardiñha
- Namesakes: António Sardinha, a Portuguese writer, part of the Integralismo Lusitano movement. Richard Sardinha, an American artist known for his work on At Lovecraft’s Grave.
- Popularity: Sardinha is rare worldwide, mainly used in Angola, and ranked 871st in Brazil in 2014.
Sena
Sena names a place in Spain understood as a passing place, the kind of spot travelers moved through. In Greek it serves as a girl’s nickname for Selena, and Sena Huesca is a Spanish town. Brazilians will also hear the echo of Senna, spelled with two n’s and forever attached to a racing driver.
- Origin: Brazilian, Spanish
- Meaning: From Sena
- Pronunciation: SEY-naa
- Variations: Senna
- Namesakes: Suzanne Sena, an American news anchor for Fox News. Dominic Sena, an American director known for Kalifornia (1993).
- Popularity: Sena is uncommon worldwide and primarily used in Brazil, ranking 2023rd in 2014. It has charted as a U.S. given name since 1880 and sat at #3,162 in 2025.
Silva
Silva means woods or thicket of briars and marked a dweller in or beside the trees. It is the most common surname in Brazil by a wide margin, shared by roughly 34 million people, and the most common in Portugal as well. If you are tracing a Brazilian family tree, Silva is where the search gets difficult.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Woods
- Pronunciation: SIYL-vaa
- Variations: Da Silva, De Silva
- Namesakes: Douglas Silva, a Brazilian actor known for City of God (2002). Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the 19th President of Portugal from 2006 to 2016.
- Popularity: Silva ranked 100th worldwide in a 2014 global surname index and is mostly used in Brazil. The 2022 Brazilian census records it for about 34 million people, roughly 17 percent of the country, making it Brazil’s most common surname by a wide margin. As a U.S. first name it is far quieter, last charting at #14,935 in 2023.
Siqueira
Sequeira is a topographical name also meaning “sterile land.” It’s meant for someone living in or “coming from Sequeira.”
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Dry land
- Pronunciation: Sih-KEY-raa
- Variations: Sequeira, Siqueiro
- Namesakes: Guilherme Siqueira, a Brazilian footballer for Granada. Luciano Siqueira, a Brazilian footballer for Chievo Verona.
- Popularity: Siqueira is uncommon worldwide and mainly used in Brazil, where it ranked 108th in 2014.
Soares
Soares descends from the medieval first name Sueiro and the Latin suarius, meaning swineherd. It is the Portuguese and Galician counterpart of Suarez and also reads as son of Soeiro, an occupational name tied to raising pigs rather than a lowly one.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Swineherd
- Pronunciation: SWAA-rehs
- Variations: Soars
- Namesakes: António Pinto Soares, the head of state of Costa Rica from Sep. 11 to 27, 1842. Ilka Soares, a Brazilian actress known for Iracema (1949).
- Popularity: Soares ranked 266th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 15th in 2014.
Sousa
Sousa marks someone from Sousa or Souza, understood as a salty place. Several Portuguese towns and a river carry the name, so there are plenty of places a Sousa family could call home. Both spellings are correct and both are common in Brazil.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Salty place
- Pronunciation: SUW-saa
- Variations: Souza, de Sousa
- Namesakes: Frederico Sousa, a Portuguese rugby union player for Direito. Charles Sousa, a Canadian member of Parliament since 2022.
- Popularity: Sousa ranked 581st worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 44th in 2014.
Suassuna
Suassuna is one of the few surnames on this list with Indigenous roots and no settled meaning. Its rarity is the point: outside Brazil it barely registers at all. A playwright and a state president have carried it, which is a strong record for such a small name.
- Origin: Brazilian
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: Swaa-SOO-naa
- Namesakes: João Suassuna, the Brazilian President of Paraíba from 1924 to 1929. Ariano Suassuna, a Brazilian playwright known for Auto da Compadecida (1955).
- Popularity: Suassuna is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil.
Tavares
Tavares comes from the Latin taberna, meaning inn, and ranks among the oldest family names in Portugal. Some researchers connect it to the Hebrew tav, meaning truth, and count it among the surnames first used by Sephardic Jewish families. An inn name suggests a family at the center of a town’s traffic.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Tavern
- Pronunciation: Taa-VAAR-ehs
- Variations: Tavárez
- Namesakes: Fernanda Tavares, a Brazilian model appearing in Cosmopolitan. Jimmy Tavares, a French actor appearing in My Life on Ice (2003).
- Popularity: Tavares ranked 812th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, ranking 64th in 2014. It also has a real history as an American first name, peaking at #634 in 1976 and still charting at #5,176 in 2025.
Teixeira
Teixeira means one who comes from Teixeira, the place of yew trees, built on the Galician teixo. It appears as Teijeira in Castilian. Yew was the wood of longbows and churchyards, so a yew grove was rarely just scenery.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Yew tree
- Pronunciation: Tae-SHAEY-raa
- Variations: Texeira
- Namesakes: Mark Teixeira, an American baseball player for the Texas Rangers. Thalissa Teixeira, a British-Brazilian actress known for the miniseries Trigonometry (2019).
- Popularity: Teixeira ranked 476th worldwide and is primarily used in Brazil, where it ranked 39th in 2014.
Torres
Torres means towers, from the Latin turris, and marked a dweller near a tower or spire or someone from one of the many places called Torres. Watchtowers dotted the Iberian coast for centuries, and families took their names from the nearest one. It reads as solid in any language.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Towers
- Pronunciation: TOH-rehz
- Variations: Torre, de Torres
- Namesakes: Fernando Torres, a Brazilian actor known for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985). Juan José Torres, the 50th President of Bolivia from 1970 to 1971.
- Popularity: Torres ranked 154th worldwide, is mostly used in Mexico, and ranked 138th in Brazil in 2014. As a U.S. given name it remains rare, ranked #10,576 in 2025.
Verissimo
Verissimo is also a Portuguese first name meaning “most true,” from the Latin “verus.” It’s famous because of the Christian martyr Saint Verissimus and is the name of a Brazilian municipality and a river.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Most true
- Pronunciation: Veh-rih-SIY-mow
- Variations: Verissmo
- Namesakes: Érico Verissimo, an Brazilian writer known for Clarissa (1933). Azumir Veríssimo, a Brazilian footballer for FC Porto.
- Popularity: Verissimo is rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil, ranking 429th in 2014.
Viegas
Viegas is a patronymic surname meaning “son of Egas,” an ancient Visigothic name. It’s associated with the Arabic “ben,” meaning “son,” and medieval Egas.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Son of Egas
- Pronunciation: Vee-EHY-gaas
- Variations: Veigas
- Namesakes: Manuela Viegas, a Portuguese director and part of The School of Reis film tradition. José Viegas, the Brazilian Ambassador to Russia from 2001 to 2002.
- Popularity: Viegas is rare worldwide, primarily used in Angola, and ranked 533rd in Brazil in 2014.
Vieira
Vieira means scallop in Portuguese, from the Latin conchula veneria, the shell of Venus. It also names several places in Portugal and Galicia, a coastal echo that fits a name meaning shellfish.
- Origin: Brazilian, Portuguese
- Meaning: Scallop
- Pronunciation: Vee-EHY-raa
- Variations: Viero
- Namesakes: Meredith Vieira, an American moderator for The View (1997 to 2006). Luís Filipe Vieira, the 33rd President of Portuguese sports club S.L. Benfica from 2003 to 2021.
- Popularity: Vieira ranked 310th worldwide and is mostly used in Brazil, where it ranked 18th in 2014.
