Amche Alconz

Our Surnames

Portuguese Surnames of Christians in India

                                               A book by

Manoj Saldana

                                                             Mangalore, India

Jeevana Charitable Trust
Mangalore

© Jeevana Charitable Trust, 2010.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the publishers.

First published by Jeevana Charitable Trust ® 2010
Marnamikatta, Jeppu, Mangalore – 575 001.
Ph: 0824-6530416/9482095412
Email:jeevana_trust@yahoo.co.in


                                                         DEDICATED TO

                         All those people having Portuguese surnames in India



                                                                 PREFACE

As every child gets a name from its parents, even I had a name. In fact, three names and a surname. The first name was an Indian name selected by my aunts, the second a Christian name selected by my father and the third a saint’s name selected by my Grandmother. I had the privilege of having four long names in school. It was irritating and cumbersome to write four names all the time in school. So, when I joined college, I decided to have only two names, my first name and the surname. I used initials for the second and third name. When I started working, I dropped the initials too and have only two names now.

It was during my studies in Canada, that I gave a serious thought to my name. I was fully aware of the meaning of my names and their significance. But, people in Canada were very particular about the meaning, relevance, culture, background, roots and history of their names. This aspect of relevance of names is ignored by Christian parents in India. Kids get names which are totally irrelevant. Biblical names are fine, but why English or Irish names? Why do we baptise our kids with names which symbolises a son of an Englishman like `Johnson’, `Dixon’, `Nelson’ or after a town in England like Ashton, Dayton, Carlton?

I sincerely thank Sri Eric Ozario, Gurkar, Mand Sobhann, Mangalore for his guidance.

What does de Souza, de Silva, Lobo or Pinto symbolise? First and most important, why do we have Portuguese surnames?







Konkani speaking people migrated to Goa from the Saraswat valley in North India during 1000 BC. The migration was due to the drying up of the Saraswati river. People who lived by the river and depended on the Saraswati river were forced to migrate down south to Goa.

The region was known as Konkan after the Konkani speaking people. The Konkans were Hindus and predominantly Gouda Saraswat Brahmins. They were Aryans by descent and Brahmins in identity. Their language was the Konkani variant of the ancient Indo-European family of languages. They were the Shenoy, Prabhu, Pai, Bhat and Kamaths.

The future of Goa was set to change when Vasco Da Gama sailed from Portugal and landed in India in 1498, announcing, “We have come to seek Christians and spices”. Portuguese invasion of Goa in 1510 AD brought drastic changes in Goa culturally and religiously. The Portuguese ruled Goa by the `Gun and the Bible’.

The Konkans were forced to give up their ancient Hindu life and start a Christian way of life. Forcible conversions took place on a large scale. Entire villages and towns were converted to Christianity by force by the Portuguese. During these conversions, a particular person (God father) used to sponsor all conversion on a particular day. People who were converted on that particular day inherited the `Surname’ of the God father. `Damodar’ became `Domingo’ and got the surname `de Souza’ because the God father on that particular day was a certain person whose surname was `de Souza’.

Subsequently, in the following two centuries, due to the Christian `inquisition’ (Christians being killed in the name of religion termed as `heresy’); converted Christians fled from Goa further south to nearby places. Battles between the Portuguese and other kingdoms, famines, epidemics, forcible conversions, clash of culture and traditions also forced migration of Hindu Konkans & converted Christians to Kanara (Coastal Karnataka) consisting of Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada districts & north Kerala.

The Christians who were converted had to take Christian names and leave behind their Hindu names. Names like Antony, George and Victor for males and Agnes, Elizabeth and Mary for females were common. The names were mostly biblical names after the heroes in the Bible and the Saints. The converts were baptized in masses covering a village or area.

But the Portuguese continued their legacy further by forcing the converted Christians to take Portuguese surnames. De Souza, De Silva, De Cunha, Braganza, Fernandes, Gonsalves, Lobo, Pinto, Rodrigues, Sequeira are common Portuguese surnames among the Christians in Goa, Coastal Karnataka and in Bhassin (Mumbai).

Hindu traditions and culture is still continued along with the Christian culture by the converted Christians. For instance, during the wedding ceremony the white gown or saree is used by the bride in the Church for nuptials. The wedding ring is exchanged in the Church. But, in the reception hall the bride wears the `sado’ (silk saree) and `karimani’ (black chain).

Likewise, some of the converted Christians still use their Hindu surnames like Prabhu, Kamath and Pai.

The Portuguese influence on Konkani language is considered to be highest than any Asiatic languages. Konkani borrowed heavily from Portuguese language due to the Portuguese rule in Goa. Research has revealed that there are many Portuguese loanwords in Konkani. The most prominent research was “Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages”, a glossary by Mgsr Rodolfo S Dalgado, a Goan Catholic Priest and a Portuguese language scholar. He dealt with nearly fifty Asiatic languages in his research. The language with the largest number of loanwords from Portuguese in Dalgado’s glossary is Konkani, with 1,681 words.

The most influential Portuguese word used in Konkani even today in all Konkani households is Mai (mother) and Pai (father).

Catholic religious terms in Konkani are borrowed heavily from Portuguese religious words. Some of them are Igorz (Church), Padri (Priest), Natalam (X’mas), Kantar (carol), Fest (feast), Mis (mass), Sakrament (sacrament), Bensaum (blessing).

The Portuguese surnames are still continuing from generation to generation among the Goan and Kanara Christians. Even after Five hundred years after the Portuguese conversions in Goa, the tradition of having Portuguese surnames still continues. It’s been five decades since the Portuguese rule was overthrown in Goa by India in 1961. But, the Portuguese legacy still continues immemorial in the names of Goan and Kanara Christians.


A peculiar nature of Portuguese surnames is the use of prepositions such as da, das, do, dos and de. For instance, Richard de Souza, Helen da Conceicao, Oscar dos Santos or Gregory das Neves mean "from" or "of". Da, dos, etc. are contractions of the preposition de. They mean "from the" or "of the". The current convention in Portuguese is that they be written in lower case. "Souza" is not different from "de Souza", and both are sorted under alphabet 'S'.

Below is the exhaustive list of Portuguese surnames. An exhaustive list of 482 surnames is made. All of these surnames cannot be found in Goa and Coastal Karnataka. The common surnames which are found are highlighted.

 

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A

Abranches

Abreu/Abreo

Acosta

Acuna

Afonso

Agostinho

Aguiar

Alberto

Albrao

Albuquerque

de Albreuin

de Almeida

Alcantara

Alcasoas

Aldair

Aldeia

Alemao

Alphonso

Alvares

Alves

Alvim

Do Amaral

Amarildo

Amor

Amorim

Andrade

Anes

Anibal

Anjos

Antao

Antunes

Aquinas

Aranaha

Araújo

Arnos

Assuncao

Athaide

Augusto

Avila

Azenha

Azevedo

Azocar

B

Bacardo

Baia

Baiano

Balsemao

Bandeira

Baptista/Baptist

Baracho

Barboza

Barcelos

Barco

Barreira

Barreto

Barrios

Barrocas

Barros

Barroso

Bastos

Batista

Beirao

Benedicto

Bennis

Bento

Bessa

Bettencourt

Boadita

Boas

Bocarro

Bonamis

Bonfim

Borges

Borreco

Bothelho

Braganza

Braggs

Branco

Brandao

Britto

Brum

Bruno

C

Cabo

Cabral

Cadete

Caeiro

Cafu

Caiado

Calado

Caldeira

Calisto

Camara

Campos

Cardenas

Cardinho

Cardoza

Caridade

Carlos

Carmo

Carneiro

Carrasco

Carreira

Carvalho

Castanha

Castelino

Castelo

Castro

Catao

Catarino

Cavaco

Cereja

Chagas

Chiamulera

Chico

Chissano

Cid

Cimo/Cima

Cintra

Claudio

Coelho

Coimbra

Colaco

Coma

Conceicao

Concesso

Corda

Cordeiro

Corneja

Correia/Correa

Correja

Corte

Corte-Real

Cortez

de Costa

de Cruz

Coutinho/Cutinha

Couto

Crasta

Crasto

Criado

Cristostome

Cubas

Cuthiliero

de Cunha

D

Damiao

Dano

Dantas/Dantis

Dasmarinas

Delgado

Dias

Dida

Dimas

Diniz

Domingues

Dores

Dourado

Dourte

E

Eanes

Edhino

Egipsy

Eira

Elizalde

Eronilde

Esperance

Esteves

F

Facho

Falcao

Faleiro

Faria

Feijo

Feitor

Feitosa

Felizardo

Fernandes

Ferndinando

Ferrao

Ferraz

Ferreira

Fialho

Figo

Figueiredo

Figarado

Figuiera

Florence

Fofao

Folha

Fonseca

Fontes

Fores

Fragoso

Frana

Francisco

Franco

Frank

Freitas

Frias

Fundo

Furtado

Futre

G

Gago

Galhardo

Gama

Godinho

Gomendes

Gomes

Gonsalves

Gouveia

Goveas

Graca

Gracias

Granda

Granjo

Guajira

Guarda

Guera

Guia/Guiao

Guimaraes

Gunja

Gurjao

Guterres

H

Haraculamo

Hechevaria

Henriques

Heredia

Homem

I

Inácio

Izquierdo

J

Jacques

Jardim

Joanes

Joao

Joje

Jordao

Jorge

Juliao

Junqueira

L

Labat

Lacerda

Lapuente

Lasrado

Lazarus

Leal

Leitao

Leite

Lemos

Lewis

de Lima

Lisboa

Lobato

Lobo

Lopes

Lourenco

Louzado

Loyola

Luis/Lewis

Luz

M

Macedo

Machado

Macieira

Maciel

Madeira

Madrid

Magellan

Magrico

Maia

Marcal

Marcelo

Margo

Marques

Martha/Madtha

Martins

Martires

Martis

Mascarenhas

Mathias

Matos

Mazarello

Medeiros

Medrado

Meireles

Melo

de Mello

Mendes

Mendonca

Menezes

Mergulhao

Mesquita

Messias

Mestress

Milagres

Milazar

Miranda

Misquith

Moneiro

Monserrate

Monte

Monteiro

Morais/Moras

Moralis

Moreira

Morillo

Mota

Moura

Mourinho

Mundo

Muniz

Murzello

Musrri

N

Nascimento

Nazareth/Nazare

Negrao

Neto

Neves

Nicolau

Nogueira

Noronha

Norris

Norton

Novais

Nunes

Nunho

O

Oliveira

Oceano

P

Pacheco

Paços

Pais/Paes

Paiva

Paixao

Palha

Palmeira

Paneira

Parado

Parras

Parrela

Pascoal

Pashao/Pashanv

Pastorinho

Patrao

Patricio

Patrocinio

Paula

Pauleta

Paulino

Paz

Pedreira

Pedroso

Pegado

Peixoto

Penha

Penteado

Pereira

Peres/Pires

Pessao/Pessoa

Peteira

Picardo

Piedade

Pimenta

Pinheiro

Pinho

Pinto

Pires

Po

Pombal

Pontes

Porciuncula

Porfirio

Prazeres

Prestes

Proenca

Q

Quadros

Queiros

R

Ramos

Rangel

Raposo

Rasquinha

Rato/Ratos

Rebello

Regalo

Rego

Reis

Remedios

Resendes

Reveredo

Ribeiro

Ricardo

Rios

Rivaldo

Rivera

de Rosa

Rocha

Roche

Rodrigues

Romero

Rosario

Rubalcaba

Ruiz

S

de Sa

de Silva

de Souza

Sá da Bandeira

Sacrafamilia

Sacramento

Salazar

Saldanha

Salem

Sales

Salgueiro

Salvador

Sampaio

Sanches

Santa Maria

Santana

Santhanaz

Santhmayor

Santimano

Santis

Santomaior

Santos

Sapeco

Sardinha

Schunker

Secretario

Seixas

Semedo

Sena

Sequeira

Serpa

Serrador

Serrao

Silvano

Silveira

Simoes/Simos

Soares

Sobrinho

Soveral

Suares

T

Taffarel

Tanque

Tanse

Tauro

Tavares

Tavora/Tavera

Teixeira

Telles/Tellis

Terrivel

Tinaco

Toledo

Torquato

Torrado/Thorado

Torres/Toras

Tourinho

Travada

Travasso

Trigoso

Trindade

Tuscano

V

Valadares

Valente

Vales

Varela

Vasconcelos

Vasques

Vaz

Veigas

Velho

Veloso

Vento

Verdes

Vergueiro

Vidigal

Vieira

Vilela

Vilna

Virgens

Vozone

X

Xavier

Ximenes

Z

Zeimoto

Zonta

Zuzarte

A
Abranches
Abreu/Abreo
Acosta

Acuna
Afonso
Agostinho

Aguiar
Alberto
Albrao
Albuquerque
de Albreuin
de Almeida
Alcantara
Alcasoas
Aldair
Aldeia
Alemao
Alphonso
Alvares
Alves
Alvim

Do Amaral

Amarildo

Amor
Amorim

Andrade
Anes
Anibal
Anjos
Antao
Antunes

Aquinas
Aranaha
Araújo

Arnos
Assuncao

Athaide
Augusto

Avila
Azenha
Azevedo
Azocar
B
Bacardo
Baia
Baiano
Balsemao
Bandeira

Baptista/Baptist
Baracho
Barboza
Barcelos
Barco
Barreira
Barreto
Barrios
Barrocas
Barros
Barroso

Bastos
Batista

Beirao

Benedicto
Bennis
Bento
Bessa
Bettencourt

Boadita
Boas
Bocarro
Bonamis
Bonfim
Borges

Borreco
Bothelho
Braganza

Braggs
Branco
Brandao

Britto

Brum

Bruno
C
Cabo
Cabral

Cadete
Caeiro
Cafu
Caiado
Calado
Caldeira
Calisto
Camara
Campos
Cardenas
Cardinho
Cardoza
Caridade
Carlos
Carmo
Carneiro
Carrasco
Carreira

Carvalho
Castanha
Castelino
Castelo
Castro
Catao
Catarino
Cavaco
Cereja
Chagas
Chiamulera
Chico
Chissano
Cid
Cimo/Cima
Cintra
Claudio
Coelho
Coimbra
Colaco
Coma
Conceicao
Concesso
Corda
Cordeiro
Corneja
Correia/Correa
Correja
Corte
Corte-Real

Cortez
de Costa
de Cruz
Coutinho/Cutinha
Couto
Crasta
Crasto
Criado
Cristostome
Cubas
Cuthiliero
de Cunha
D
Damiao

Dano
Dantas/Dantis
Dasmarinas
Delgado
Dias
Dida
Dimas
Diniz
Domingues
Dores
Dourado
Dourte
E
Eanes
Edhino
Egipsy
Eira
Elizalde
Eronilde
Esperance
Esteves
F
Facho
Falcao
Faleiro
Faria

Feijo
Feitor
Feitosa

Felizardo
Fernandes
Ferndinando
Ferrao
Ferraz
Ferreira
Fialho
Figo
Figueiredo
Figarado
Figuiera
Florence
Fofao
Folha
Fonseca
Fontes
Fores
Fragoso
Frana
Francisco
Franco
Frank
Freitas
Frias
Fundo
Furtado
Futre
G
Gago
Galhardo
Gama
Godinho
Gomendes
Gomes
Gonsalves
Gouveia
Goveas

Graca
Gracias
Granda
Granjo
Guajira
Guarda
Guera
Guia/Guiao
Guimaraes
Gunja
Gurjao
Guterres
H
Haraculamo
Hechevaria
Henriques
Heredia
Homem
I
Inácio

Izquierdo
J
Jacques
Jardim
Joanes
Joao
Joje
Jordao

Jorge
Juliao
Junqueira
L
Labat
Lacerda
Lapuente
Lasrado
Lazarus
Leal
Leitao
Leite
Lemos
Lewis
de Lima
Lisboa
Lobato
Lobo
Lopes
Lourenco
Louzado
Loyola
Luis/Lewis
Luz

M
Macedo
Machado
Macieira
Maciel

Madeira
Madrid
Magellan
Magrico
Maia
Marcal
Marcelo
Margo
Marques
Martha/Madtha
Martins
Martires
Martis
Mascarenhas
Mathias
Matos

Mazarello
Medeiros

Medrado
Meireles
Melo
de Mello
Mendes
Mendonca
Menezes
Mergulhao
Mesquita
Messias
Mestress
Milagres
Milazar
Miranda
Misquith
Moneiro
Monserrate
Monte
Monteiro
Morais/Moras
Moralis
Moreira
Morillo
Mota
Moura
Mourinho

Mundo
Muniz

Murzello
Musrri
N
Nascimento

Nazareth/Nazare
Negrao
Neto
Neves

Nicolau

Nogueira
Noronha
Norris
Norton
Novais
Nunes

Nunho
O
Oliveira
Oceano
P
Pacheco
Paços

Pais/Paes
Paiva
Paixao
Palha
Palmeira
Paneira

Parado
Parras
Parrela
Pascoal
Pashao/Pashanv
Pastorinho
Patrao
Patricio
Patrocinio
Paula
Pauleta
Paulino
Paz
Pedreira
Pedroso
Pegado
Peixoto
Penha
Penteado
Pereira
Peres/Pires
Pessao/Pessoa
Peteira
Picardo
Piedade
Pimenta
Pinheiro
Pinho
Pinto
Pires
Po
Pombal
Pontes
Porciuncula
Porfirio
Prazeres
Prestes
Proenca
Q
Quadros
Queiros
R
Ramos
Rangel
Raposo
Rasquinha
Rato/Ratos
Rebello
Regalo
Rego
Reis
Remedios
Resendes

Reveredo
Ribeiro
Ricardo
Rios
Rivaldo
Rivera
de Rosa
Rocha
Roche

Rodrigues
Romero
Rosario
Rubalcaba
Ruiz
S
de Sa
de Silva
de Souza
Sá da Bandeira

Sacrafamilia
Sacramento
Salazar
Saldanha
Salem
Sales
Salgueiro
Salvador
Sampaio
Sanches
Santa Maria
Santana
Santhanaz
Santhmayor
Santimano
Santis
Santomaior
Santos
Sapeco
Sardinha
Schunker
Secretario
Seixas
Semedo

Sena
Sequeira
Serpa
Serrador
Serrao
Silvano
Silveira
Simoes/Simos
Soares
Sobrinho
Soveral
Suares
T
Taffarel
Tanque
Tanse
Tauro
Tavares

Tavora/Tavera
Teixeira
Telles/Tellis
Terrivel
Tinaco
Toledo
Torquato
Torrado/Thorado
Torres/Toras
Tourinho
Travada
Travasso
Trigoso
Trindade
Tuscano
V
Valadares
Valente

Vales
Varela
Vasconcelos

Vasques
Vaz

Veigas
Velho
Veloso
Vento
Verdes
Vergueiro
Vidigal
Vieira
Vilela
Vilna
Virgens
Vozone
X
Xavier
Ximenes

Z
Zeimoto
Zonta
Zuzarte















All names have their own meanings. But, surnames have meaning as well as significance. Origin of Portuguese surnames may be after the parents name, a particular place, region, religion, tribe, belonging, culture and habits. Sometimes it signifies nature, animals, trees, food and occupation of people.

Majority of surnames describe the place, city, village or region to which a person belongs. Many of these places do not exist now. For instance, Aldeia, Pacheo (name of villages), Avila, Cintra, Coimbra, Faria, Gouveia, Barcelos (persons belonging to these cities), Almeida (plateau), Barros (area of clay), Lima (the name of a river), Lisboa (Lisbon) etc.

There are other surnames which indicate a location where the person lived, like Azenha (living near the water mill), Azevedo (living near holy bushes), Silva (one who lives in bushes), Moras (one who lives near Mulberry bushes), Ribeiro (one who lives near a river), Cardosa (one who lives on a land of thistles), Fonte (residing near the fountain), Eira (living near the threshing-floor), Tanque (by the community cistern), Fundo (on the lower part of the village), Cimo/Cima (on the upper part of the village), Cabo (on the far end of the village), Cabral (near the field where the goats graze).

In some cases, surnames symbolize a physical structure or object like Souza (a place with seixos), Catelinho (castle), Siqueira (non-irrigated land), Rocha (rock), Coutinho (small shelter), crasta (courtyard), Monte (hill), Pais (sea), veigas (meadow), Vale (valley).

Trees are commonly used for surnames like Albuquerque (white oak tree), Carvalho (oak tree), Figueira (fig tree), Macieira (apple tree), Moreira (mulberry tree), Oliveira (olive tree), Palmeira (palm tree), Pinheiro (pine tree), Pereira (pear tree).

As is common in any culture, use of the Father’s name in the surname is followed in Portuguese surnames also. When a surname ends with es or ez it means son of, like Alvares (son of Alvaro), Antunes (son of Antanio), Fernandes (son of Fernando), Gonsalves (son of Gonsalvo), Henriques (son of Henrique), Lopes (son of Lopo), Mendes (son of Mendo), Nunes (son of Nuno), Rodrigues (son of Rodrigo). Neto means grandson, Colaco for foster brother and Sobrinho stands for nephew.

Due to strong Christian faith in Portugal, surnames with religious significance are common. For instance, Assuncao (assumption of the Virgin Mary), Aquinas (St.Thomas Aquinas), Baptist (St. John Baptist), Benedicto (blessed), Bento (holy), Bonfim (our lady of good health), Conceicao (conception), Graca (our lady of Grace), Mathias (Gift of God), Messias (Anointed), Milagres (miracle), Pascoal (Easter), Rasario (Rosary), Santis (holy), Santos (saint), Ramos (palm Sunday), Cruz (cross). Orphans were baptized by priests with a religious name relevant to the day when they were adopted.

Portuguese surnames follow the system used in parts of Europe that symbolize the occupation of the person, like Botelho (gatherer of sea weeds), Caeiro (lime maker), Caldeira (cauldron maker), Cubas (barrel maker), Fernandes (explorer), Jorge (farmer), Nazareth (guard) and Pereira (grower or seller of pears).

Other surnames indicate animals like Lobo (wolf), Aranha (spider), Sardinha (sardine), Tauro (bull), Peixoto (fish), Pinto (small chicken), Carneiro (sheep) and Coelho (rabbit).
There are many surnames with general meanings such as Barco (Boat), Mendonca (cold mountain), Bareto (mud), Branco (white), Gomes/Andrade (man), Cunha (wedge), Dias (days), Fores (strong), Frank (free man), Furtado (stolen), Gago (stammerer), Machado (axe), Madeira (timber), Madtha (weasel), Margo (thin), Mascarenhas (umbrella), Miranda (lovely), Patrao (patron), Rego (forrow), Soares (thin hair) and Teles (saddle cloth).

Some Portuguese surnames have originated from foreigners who lived in Portugal or Brazil many centuries ago. The Portuguese Jews living in Portugal had names that were different from the Christian names.

Below is the list of Portuguese surnames along with their meanings.

SURNAME MEANING
A
Abreu Elf\'s counsel
Afonso Noble is ready
Aguiar Haunt of eagles
Alberto Noble is famous
Albuquerque White oak tree
Alcantara Arch
Aldeia Village
Alemao German
de Almeida Plateau
Alvares All true/son of Alvaro
Alves All true
Amaral Black grapes
Amor Owe
Andrade Man
Antunes Son of Antanio
Anjos Angels
Aranaha Spider
Assuncao Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Avila A city in Spain
Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas
Azenha Living near the water mill
Azevedo Someone who lives near holy bushes
B
Bacardo A logical way of arguing
Baptista Saint John Baptist
Barboza One who lives in bushes
Barcelos A city in Portugal
Barco Boat
Barreto Mud
Barros/Barroso Someone who lives on a patch of clay soil
Barreira Clay quarry
Bettencourt From the French word `Bettencourt’
Benedicto Blessed
Bennis Blessed
Bento Holy
Botelho A gatherer of seaweeds
Bonfim Our Lady of Good death
Branco White
Bruno Brown
C
Caeiro Lime maker
Cabral Field where the goats graze
Cabo Living near the far end of the village
Caiado Whitened
Calado Quiet
Caldeira Cauldron maker
Calisto Unlucky
Camara Room
Campos Grass field
Cardinho Small thistle
Cardosa One who lives on a land of thistles
Caridade Charity
Carlos The Spanish form of Charles, which means `man’.
Carmo Orchard
Carneiro Sheep
Carrasco Hangman
Carvalho Oak tree
Castanha Chestnut
Castelino Castle
Castro Castle
Catao Austere man
Cavaco Peeler
Cereja Cherry
Chagas Wound of Christ
Chico Small
Cintra A city
Cimo/Cima Upper part of the village
Coelho Rabbit
Colaco Foster brother
Coimbra A city
Coma Head with hair
Conceicao Conception
Concesso Permitted
Corda Rope
Cordeiro Lamb
Cordo Wise
Correia A kind of plant
Corte Cut
Cortez Polite
Costa Coast
Coutinho Small shelter
Couto Shelter
Crasta Courtyard
Crasto Palace
Criado Foster child
Cruz Cross
Cubas Barrel Maker
Cunha Wedge
D
Dantas/Dantis Someone who lives near pillars
Delgado A thin person
Dias Days
Diniz Follower
Dores Our Lady of Sorrows
Dourado Golden
Dourte Fort guard
E
Egipsy Egyptian
Eira Treshing floor
Eseves Crown
Esteves Son of Estev
Esperance Hope
F
Facho Torch
Falcao Hawk
Faria A city
Felizardo Lucky
Fernandes Adventurer, explorer , Son of Fernando
Ferndinando Adventurer, explorer
Ferrao Sting
Ferraz Fruitful
Ferreira A place where iron ore is found
Fialho Fine thread
Figueira Fig tree
Figueiredo Orchard of fig trees
Fonseca Stream
Fores Strong
Fontes Living near the fountain
Fragoso Craggy
Francisco Free man
Franco Free man
Frank Free man
Freitas Rocky ground
Frias Cold
Furtado Stolen
Fundo Lower part of the valley
G
Gama Doe
Gago Stammerer
Galharado Gallant
Gomes Man
Gonsalves Wolf, Son of Gonsalvo
Gouveia A city in Portugal
Gracias Charming
Graca Our Lady of Grace
Granjo Long legged
Guarda Guard
Guia Guide
Guiao Banner
Guimaraes A place
H
Henriques Son of Henrique
Heredia Ancestral estates
J
Jacques He will trip by the heel
Joanes Yahweh is gracious
Joao John
Jorge Farmer
L
Lacerda Thick haired person
Lazarus May God help him
Leitao A sucking ping
Leite Milk
Lemos Elm
Lewis Fame war
Lisboa City of Lisbon
Lima Name of a river
Lobato Small wolf
Lobo Wolf
Lopes Wolf, Son of Lopo
Lourenco A town in Italy
Louzado Made of flat stones
Loyola A city in Spain
Luis French gold coin
Luz Our lady of Divine Light
M
Machado Axe
Macedo An apple tree garden
Macieira Apple Tree
Madeira Timber
Marcal War god
Marques Someone who lives near a boundary
Martha/Madtha Weasel
Martins Roman god of war
Margo Thin
Magrico Skinny
Mascarenhas Umbrella
Matos Forest
Mathias Gift of God
Melo Black bird
Mendes Son of Mendo
Mendonca A cold mountain
Medrado Grown-up
Menezes Battlement
Mergulhao A wine branch turned bow shape
Mesquita Mosque
Messias Anointed
Milagres Miracle
Miranda Lovely
Moneiro Hunter
Monserrate A city of Spain
Monte Hill
Morais/Moras One who lives near mulberry bush
Moreira Mulberry tree
Muniz Son of Munis
Murzello Black colour
N
Nazareth/Nazare To guard
Nascimento Nativity of Virgin Mary
Neto Grandson
Nunes Son of Nuno
Neves Our Lady of the Snows
Nogueira Someone who lives near walnut tree
Norris Northerner
Norton Enclosure
Novais Land recently cleared
O
Oliveira Olive tree
P
Pacheco A village in Portugal
Pais Sea
Paiva Someone living by the river Paiva in Portugal
Paixao Passion
Palha Straw
Palmeira Palm tree
Parado Stopped
Parras Someone who lives by an enclosure
Pastorinho Little shepherd
Patrocinio Our Lady of Patronage
Pascoal Easter
Patrao Patron
Paula Small
Paz Our Lady of Peace
Pedroso Stony
Pedreira Quarry
Pegado Glued
Peixoto A kind of fish
Penha Rock
Pereira Grower or seller of pears
Peres/Pires Rock, Son of Pero
Penteado Hair dressing
Picardo Someone from Picardy in north France
Piedade Piety
Pimenta Pepper
Pinheiro Pine tree
Pinho Pine wood
Pinto Small chicken
Po Dust
Porciuncula Small part
Pontes Someone who lived near a bridge
Prazeres Joy
Proenca Province
Q
Queiroz A place in west Spain
R
Raposo Male fox
Rato Rat
Ratos Rats
Ramos Branches from Palm Sunday
Rebello A projecting strip of land
Rego Furrow
Reis Day of the wise kings
Remedios Remedy
Ribeiro Someone who lives near a river
Ricardo Strong power
Rivera River
Rocha Rock
Rodrigues Son of Rodrigo
Romero Pilgrimage to Rome
Rosa Rose
Rosario Rosary
Ruiz Son of Ruy
S
Sa Someone employed at a manor house
Sacrafamilia Holy family
Salem Salutation
Sales Salty
Salgueiro Willow
Sanches Saint, Son of Sancho
Santa Maria Holy Mary
Santana Saint Ann
Santis Holy
Santomaior Great saint
Santos Saint
Sardinha Sardine
Seixas Someone who lives by a patch of dry land
Serra Someone who lives on hills
Serrador Sawman
Silva Someone who lives in wood
Siqueira Non-irrigated land
Silvano Wood
Silveira Someone who lives in a wood
Simoes Yahweh has heard
Soares A person with a reddish hair, Son of Soeiro
Sobrinho Nephew
Sousa/souza A place with peddles/Salt marsh
T
Tauro Bull
Tanque Community cistern
Teixeira Someone who lives near yew tree
Teles Saddle cloth
Terrivel Terrible
Toledo A city in Spain
Torrado Toasted
Torres Tower
Tourinho Little bull
Trindade Trinity
Tinoco Short
Tuscano Someone from Tuscany in Italy
V
Vales Valley
Vasques Son of Vasco
Varela Stick
Veiga Meadow
Velho Advanced in years
Veloso Hairy
Vergueiro That bends
Vieira Scallop
Virgenes Of the Virgin Martyrs
X
Xavier Saint Francis Xavier























Biblical names are common among Catholics in Coastal Karnataka and Goa. Thomas, Andrew, Gabriel, Mary, Veronica are common names from the Bible. Portuguese names were in vogue earlier. Dona Maria, Pedro, Paulo were some of the Portuguese names. These Portuguese names were later Konkanised.

These days English names are very popular among parents of new-born. It has become a fashion to baptize kids with English names like Gladson, Nelson, Oniel, Felina, Kelita. In the process to have fashionable names, new unheard names having no specific meaning are found like Blemet, Kerlin, Jerlina.

Over the centuries, due to the influence of Konkani language, Biblical names and English names have Konkani variations. This variation was necessary to suit the local lingua franca.

Bilingual names, having variants in both Konkani and English, like Thejju (Theresa), Pedru (Peter) and Zuaun (John) are common among Kanara & Goan Catholics. Another popular naming tradition uses English names, like Kevin, Kenneth and Sanferd, that have no Konkani variants. Portuguese names such as Savio, Mario and Andrea are popular and so are Indian names like Anil, Raj, Jyothi, and Anita. Some Catholics still have their original Goud Saraswat Brahmin surnames such as Prabhu, Kamat, Pai, and Shenoy.

Originally, the first name of all converts was biblical names pronounced in Portuguese. For instance, Paulo (Paul) and Pedru (Peter). The Konkani variation was Paulu & Pedru. Now a days, the names are varied to suit the English names like Paul and Peter.





Here are a few bilingual names.

English Name Konkani variation Sex
Aegidius Ejju Female
Agnes Aggi Female
Alfred Alpi/Alfu Male
Alice Allu Female
Alwyn Olla/Olvi Male
Ambrose Ambu Male
Andrew Aandhre/Andru Male
Antony Anton/Anthu
Male
Apoline Appi Female
Arthur Attu/Atti Male
Augustine Gustu/Gustin Male
Baptist Battu Male
Benedict Benny/Benna Male
Caroline Carlin Female
Celine/Celestin Celli Female
Clifford Kippa Male
Clotilda Clotty Female
Cyprian Cypri Male
Damien Damiaun Male
David Dhavidh Male
Dolphord Dolfy Male
Dominic Dunga/Dumini Male
Donald Dona Male
Dorothy Dotty/Dora Female
Edward Edy Male
Edwin Eda Male
Elizabath Eliz/Lizzy Female
Emilda/Emilia Emmi/Emma Female
Emiliana Milly Female
Eulalia Eula Female
Eveline/Evelyn Hevli Female
Felicia/Felicita Felcy Female
Felix Fella Male
Francis Pencha/Poka/Franky Male
Fredrick Feddi Male
Gabriel Gabbu Male
George Gorgie Male
Gilbert Gibba Male
Gregory Gigu Male
Helen Yellu Female
Hezel Hazly Female
Ignatius Inas Male
Irene Iri Female
James Jimmy/Jamy Male
Jane Jinna Female
Jerald Jerry/Jera Male
Jerome Jermy Male
Jesus Jezu Male
Joachim Joki Male
Joan/Joanne/Juliana Junna Female
John Zuaun Male
Joseph Zuze/Jossy Male
Lawrence
Lorso/Laurie Male
Louis/Lewis Luvi Male
Magdalene/Margaret Maggi Female
Marcel Macha Male
Mariette Mari Female
Mark Marku Male
Mary Mory/Monthi Female
Mathew Mathev Male
Matilda Matty Female
Michael Mekki Male
Natalia Nelly/Natal Female
Nevil Navy Male
Noel Nolla Male
Norbert Nobbi Male
Oswald Ozzy Male
Patricia Patcy Female
Patrick Patty/Pitta Male
Paul Paulu Male
Pauline Paula Female
Peter Pedru
Male
Philomena Pillu Female
Piedad Peadh Male
Rachael Rekel Female
Richard Richi Male
Ronald Rony/Rona Male
Rudolph Rudi Male
Sebastin Bostu/Bostaun Male
Simon Simaun Male
Stany Itta/Istyani Male
Stella Esthel/Estu Female
Sylvester Silest/Shilu Male
Theresa Thejju Female
Thomas Thoma Male
Titus Tattu Male
Valerian/Valentine Vally Male
Victor Vithor/Vitori/Vithy Male
Vincent Vishent/Vincy Male
Walter Walti Male
Wilfred Wilfy Male
William Willy Male
Zuanna Junna/Zuvan Female







 
The Catholics were forcibly converted by the Portuguese. As such, there were only Biblical, Portuguese, and European names during Baptism. These names were gradually varied to Konkani. After the British era started, these names were anglicized to suit the present English names. For instance, the origin Portuguese name was Paulo, which was varied to Konkani as Paulu, and now has become Paul in English. Even today, the English name is used only in school and public records. At home and in society, it’s still popular to use the Konkani variation.

During the 20th century, English emerged as the popular language in India. English had its influence in Goa too, in spite of the Portuguese rule. English education in schools and universities led to the downfall of the Portuguese language. It failed to attract the youth because of job opportunities and globalisation. The process of Anglicization of Portuguese started. The final nail in the coffin of the Portuguese language was the end of Portuguese rule in Goa in 1961.

Konkanization of Portuguese words also gained momentum in Goa. Local Konkani scholars started a moment to revive the Konkani language of its glory. Konkani was announced as the official language of the State of Goa. Konkani was started to be used in business, commerce and educational fields.







Below is the list of Portuguese names along with their Konkani variation.


Portuguese Origin Konkani Variation Present English Name
Antonio Anton Antony
Armando Herman Herman
Claudio Claudy Claud
Elisabete Eliz Elizabeth
Estella Esthel Stella
Francisco Foransik/Pencha/
Pokka Francis
Frederico Peddi Fredrick
Helena Yellu Helen
Inacio Inus Ignatius
Janne Jinna Jane
Joaon Zuaun John
Joaquim Joki Joachim
Jorge Jorgi George
Lauro Lorso/Laurie Lawrence
Luish Luvi Louis
Patricio Pitta Patrick
Paulo Paulu Paul
Pedro Pedru Peter
Rakel Rekel Racheal
Ricardo Richi Richard
Ronaldo Rona Ronald
Rosa Rozi Rose
Sebastio Bosthaun Sebastian
Simao Simaun Simon
Tito Tattu Titus
Vicente Vishent Vincent
Vitor Vithy Victor
Zoze Jossy Joseph

 
An interesting feature of the Portuguese surnames is the variation to Konkani language.

After the British era, Goan and Kanara Christian surnames were varied to suit the English accent. As English was widely used in India, it was necessary to suit the Portuguese surnames to English accent. The impact of Konkani was also felt on the Portuguese surnames. These surnames were varied to suit the Konkani accent.

Below is the list of surnames along with their original Portuguese surname.

Portuguese Origin Konkani variation
Albuquerque Albuker
De Almeida Almeida
Andrade Andhrad
Britto Birith
Fernandes Fernandh
Perreira Perer
Gonsalves Goasal
Lobo Lob
Machado Machadh
Mascarenhas Mascarenhya
Mathias Mothi
Menezes Menez
Mendonca Mendhos
Miranda Mirandh
Monteiro Monter
Pinto Peenth
Quadros Kodhrus
Rasquinha Raskinya
Rebello Rebel
Rego Raeg
Rodriguez Rudrig
Saldanha Saldanya
de Souza Soz
de Silva Silva
de Cunha Cunhya
Tauro Taur


 
Here are some of the Italian surnames found only in Jeppu area of Mangalore. This is due to the conversion of people of Jeppu by the Italian Jesuits of Jeppu Seminary.

• Baraccus
• Benito
• Canados
• Cano
• Carreira
• Cornelio
• Dides
• Florence
• Fronteiro
• Netto
• Ornello
• Ozario
• Rebimbus
• Sanctus
• Sarto
• Semento
• Spinoza
• Valento
 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. http://en.wikipedia.org

2. http://en.wiktionary.org

3. Dalgado, S. Rodolfo, Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages. Trans. Anthony Xavier Soares. 1913. Baroda, India: Oriental Institute, 1936.

4. Portuguese Loanwords in Konkani, Paper by Irene Wherritt, University of Iowa

5. Manohararāya Saradesāya, A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992; Sahitya Akademi, 2000

6. Alan Machado Prabhu, Sarasvati's Children, Camelot Publishers, 1999