Brazilian Last Names

By the Names.Contact Editorial Team · Updated September 2026 · 100 names

If you meet a Brazilian, there’s a good chance their name includes Silva, Santos or Oliveira. A small group of Portuguese surnames dominates the country, partly because of colonial naming habits and partly because freed slaves and converts were often given common Christian or place-based surnames. Around that core, waves of immigration added thousands of Italian, German, Japanese, Lebanese and Spanish family names.

Brazilians usually carry two surnames: the mother’s family name followed by the father’s, and the last one is the one used day to day. Below are 100+ Brazilian last names with their meanings and origins. For first names, see our lists of Brazilian girl names and Brazilian boy names; for European roots, compare Portuguese last names.

Our top picks: Silva, Santos, Oliveira, Souza, Ferreira, Carvalho, Nascimento, Cavalcanti, Costa, Moreira, Albuquerque, Barbosa

The most common last names in Brazil

These surnames are carried by millions of Brazilians each. Silva alone is estimated to belong to well over 5 million people.

Surname	Meaning	Origin
Silva	Forest, woods (Latin silva)	Portuguese place/topographic name
Santos	Saints; from All Saints’ Day	Portuguese religious name
Oliveira	Olive tree	Portuguese topographic name
Souza	From the Sousa river in northern Portugal	Portuguese; also spelled Sousa
Rodrigues	Son of Rodrigo, “famous ruler”	Portuguese patronymic
Ferreira	Iron works, place of iron	Portuguese place name
Alves	Son of Álvaro	Portuguese patronymic
Pereira	Pear tree	Portuguese topographic name
Lima	From the Lima river	Portuguese place name
Gomes	Son of Gome, “man”	Portuguese patronymic
Costa	Coast, slope	Portuguese topographic name
Ribeiro	Stream, brook	Portuguese topographic name
Martins	Son of Martinho (Martin)	Portuguese patronymic
Carvalho	Oak tree	Portuguese topographic name
Almeida	The plateau (Arabic al-maida)	Portuguese place name
Lopes	Son of Lopo, “wolf”	Portuguese patronymic
Soares	Son of Soeiro	Portuguese patronymic
Fernandes	Son of Fernando	Portuguese patronymic
Vieira	Scallop shell, pilgrim’s badge	Portuguese
Barbosa	Bearded or a place full of barbas (lichen)	Portuguese place name

Brazilian surnames from trees, land and nature

Many Portuguese surnames describe where an ancestor lived: by an oak, a fig orchard, a rock or a river.

Surname	Meaning	Note
Moreira	Mulberry tree	Very common in Minas Gerais
Nogueira	Walnut tree	Portuguese
Pinheiro	Pine tree	Portuguese
Figueiredo	Fig orchard	Portuguese
Macedo	Possibly “apple orchard”	Portuguese
Teixeira	Yew grove	Portuguese
Rocha	Rock	Portuguese
Pedrosa	Stony place	Portuguese
Barros	Clay, mud	Portuguese
Campos	Fields	Portuguese
Fontes	Springs, fountains	Portuguese
Vale	Valley	Portuguese
Monteiro	Huntsman, from monte (hill, woodland)	Portuguese
Freitas	Broken stones	Portuguese
Castro	Fortified hill	Portuguese and Galician
Queiroz	Place of heather	Portuguese
Serra	Mountain range	Portuguese
Rios	Rivers	Portuguese

Religious last names

Catholic surnames were often given to foundlings, converts and formerly enslaved people, which is one reason they are so widespread in Brazil.

Surname	Meaning	Note
Nascimento	Birth (of Christ)	Often given to children born near Christmas
Conceição	Conception (Immaculate Conception)	Marian surname
Jesus	Jesus	Common as “de Jesus”
Cruz	Cross	Portuguese and Spanish
Batista	Baptist (John the Baptist)	Also Baptista
Ramos	Branches (Palm Sunday)	Portuguese
Assunção	Assumption of Mary	Marian surname
Anunciação	The Annunciation	Marian surname
Trindade	Trinity	Portuguese
Paixão	The Passion of Christ	Portuguese
Chagas	The wounds of Christ	Portuguese
Espírito Santo	Holy Spirit	Found mainly in Brazil and Portugal
Paz	Peace	Often “da Paz”
Luz	Light (Our Lady of Light)	Often “da Luz”

Patronymic surnames ending in -es

The ending -es (or -s) once meant “son of,” like English -son. These patronymics are some of the oldest Portuguese surnames.

Surname	Son of…	Meaning of the root name
Gonçalves	Gonçalo	Germanic, “battle elf”
Mendes	Mendo	From Hermenegildo, “whole sacrifice”
Nunes	Nuno	Latin nonus, “ninth,” or “grandfather”
Dias	Diogo / Diego	Possibly from Santiago (St. James)
Marques	Marcos	Latin, from Mars
Henriques	Henrique	Germanic, “home ruler”
Peres	Pero (Pedro)	Greek, “rock”
Antunes	Antão	From Antonius
Esteves	Estêvão	Greek, “crown”
Vasques	Vasco	Possibly “Basque” or “crow”
Fagundes	Facundo	Latin, “eloquent”
Simões	Simão	Hebrew, “he has heard”

Brazilian last names from nicknames and animals

Some surnames began as nicknames describing a person’s looks, character or job.

Surname	Meaning	Note
Moreno	Dark-haired, tanned	Portuguese and Spanish
Pinto	Chick; also “speckled”	Portuguese
Coelho	Rabbit	Portuguese
Leão	Lion	Portuguese
Lobo	Wolf	Portuguese and Spanish
Cordeiro	Lamb	Portuguese
Bezerra	Young calf	Common in the Northeast
Carneiro	Ram, sheep	Portuguese
Leite	Milk	Possibly a dairy-farming family
Mota	Mound, earthwork	Portuguese
Cunha	Wedge	Portuguese
Brandão	Torch, firebrand	Portuguese

Aristocratic and place-name surnames

Some colonial families from the Northeast carried surnames from Portuguese towns or noble lines, and many are now widely spread.

Surname	Origin	Note
Albuquerque	Town in Extremadura, Spain	Early colonial family of Pernambuco
Cavalcanti	Florentine family name	Italian noble line settled in Pernambuco
Braga	City in northern Portugal	Portuguese
Guimarães	City in northern Portugal	“Birthplace of Portugal”
Andrade	Galician place name	Portuguese and Galician
Magalhães	Place name in northern Portugal	Surname of the explorer Magellan
Bragança	City and royal house of Portugal	Brazil’s imperial family
Sampaio	From São Paio (St. Pelagius)	Portuguese
Coutinho	Little enclosed estate (couto)	Portuguese

Italian, German, Japanese and Lebanese-Brazilian last names

Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside Japan and millions of Italian and German descendants, especially in São Paulo and the South. See also Italian last names, German last names and Japanese last names.

Surname	Meaning	Heritage
Rossi	Red-haired	Italian
Ferrari	Smith, ironworker	Italian
Bianchi	White, fair	Italian
Colombo	Dove	Italian
Romano	Roman	Italian
Schmidt	Smith	German
Müller	Miller	German
Becker	Baker	German
Weber	Weaver	German
Tanaka	Middle of the rice field	Japanese
Sato	Helping wisteria	Japanese
Suzuki	Bell tree	Japanese
Nakamura	Middle village	Japanese
Maluf	Familiar, well-known	Lebanese
Haddad	Blacksmith	Lebanese and Syrian

Tips on Brazilian surnames

Brazilian order is usually first name, mother’s surname, father’s surname: in Ana Oliveira Santos, the father’s name is Santos.
Particles like da, de, do and dos (“of the”) are part of the name but are ignored when alphabetizing.
Spelling varies: Souza/Sousa, Luiz/Luís and Baptista/Batista are the same names; older records often use the older spellings.
Because Silva and Santos are so common, genealogists search with the full combination of surnames plus a town or parish.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common last name in Brazil?

Silva is the most common, followed by Santos, Oliveira, Souza and Rodrigues.

Why is Silva so common in Brazil?

Silva was already frequent in Portugal and was widely adopted in the colony, including by converts, freed slaves and people choosing a surname at registration, so it spread across millions of families.

Do Brazilians have two last names?

Most do: typically the mother’s family name followed by the father’s. Married women may add their husband’s surname, and anyone may drop one in everyday use.

What does the surname Santos mean?

It means “saints” and refers to All Saints’ Day; it was often given to children born or baptized on November 1.

What are common Japanese-Brazilian surnames?

Tanaka, Sato, Suzuki, Nakamura, Watanabe and Takahashi are frequent among Brazil’s Nikkei community, the largest outside Japan.