It certainly knows several silvas. But have you heard of some zidorinho? There are nicknames for all tastes (some for little taste of those who have them). And we have a lot of geography in our civil registration.
If you were born in Portugal, you are about 8% likely to have Silva in your nickname. It may seem little, but when we talk about 805,446 people to share the same name, the case changes figure.
The saints are also to the Magots: Almost half a million (498,856), and who has the surname Silva usually follows themselves for this-about half of the Silvas São Silva Santos or Santos Silva.
There are many Silvas and many saints. But the Ferreiras and Pereiras Nor are they far behind, with over 400,000 Portuguese with these nicknames. Here is a list of the most common ten.
- Silva (805.446)
- Santos (498.856)
- Ferreira (407.947)
- Pereira (403.139)
- Costa (326.700)
- Oliveira (315.049)
- Rodrigues (310.720)
- Fernandes (286.605)
- Sousa (262.414)
- Martins (261.523)
A, investigator Francisco Queiroz presents a curiosity about the coast. “If we sought the nickname Costa all over the country, we would find a slightly different geography, that is, Costa is more common in the north of the country than in the south, ”he explains.
There are nicknames with cities: Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Chaves, Guimarães, among others. “Generally, city nicknames come when people do some kind of migration,” explains the expert.
“In the Azores, for example, there are many nicknames linked to cities. In the third many people have the nickname Barcelos, which is not very common in mainland Portugal. ”
And for this logic, who is called Braga and Guimarães has the origin of his name… in Porto. “There was a lot of immigration from Minho to Porto, especially in the nineteenth century,” explains Queiroz.
In Portugal there are also 10 nicknames that belong to a single person, Some of them caricatures: Alparque, good -man, gracaribeiro, martyr, pick, ricaldes, Sardoiro, tripinhas, vernate and zydorinho.
“Name so Portuguese…” Is it really?
When we hear the name Silva we tend to think it is a very Portuguese nickname. In fact, it is so common that it becomes a symbol of our country, with its name in traditional restaurants, local trades of various types and various personalities with that name.
But in fact, the Silvas originates a little further than we thought: in the Roman Empire. Yes, in the early centuries of the centuries, and yes, it literally meant “jungle.”
But that is not why the name has less noble origins: there are those who believe, according to, that the name descends from Silvios of ancient Romea family that came directly from the legendary hero Eneias.
As it came to these bands, no one knows how to need it, but what is certain is that it belonged for centuries to one of the noblest families in the kingdom of Leãothroughout the Middle Ages, which was part of the illustrious D. Payo Guterres da Silva.
And the reason for so many silvas is also curious: at the time of the discoveries, several people who did not descend from this noble family He had begun to adopt the nickname When they moved to other countries to try to change their identity, cutting with the past.
The saints also existed during medieval times, and it is believed to have been older families of our piece of the Iberian Peninsula.
What are the rules (or lack of them)?
According to, “the nicknames establish the connection to the family to which the child belongs.” The site explains that “as a rule, they are chosen from among the nicknames of both parents, but can be only one”, and “can also be chosen nicknames that belong to the ancestor (grandparents, great -grandparents). In this case, and if they are not part of their parents’ nicknames, it is necessary to take proof. ”
The problem is that, in the past, the rule was not so restricted: “People were known by the individual name and then by a patronymic that indicated who they were children. For example: a João Rodrigues, we automatically knew that he was the son of a Rodrigo“The researcher explains Francisco Queiroz.
And there were those who were known to a certain physical characteristic, which was nicknamed the family. If the nickname is Beautiful or ugly, We have good or bad news: either your ancestor was an icon of beauty, or became known just the opposite.
CAROLINA BASTOS PEREIRA, ZAP //
