ALMEIDA
The surname Almeida is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the word alameda, which denotes a poplar tree or a tree-lined avenue. It is a toponymic surname, originally used to identify an individual who lived near or was otherwise associated with an alameda.
Historically the name is linked to the town of Almeida in the province of Beira, Portugal, a settlement that bears a name of Arabic roots. The Arabic elements al meaning “the” and meida meaning “table” or “plateau” combine to give a literal translation of “the table”, reflecting the flat terrain of the area. This Arabic origin dates back to the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula before the twelfth century.
During the early modern period, Almeida was frequently recorded with the aristocratic particle de, a form borrowed from French usage. Examples from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries include Manoel Luiz de Almeida (christened at Santo Antao on 10 September 1599) and Manoel Gonzales de Almeida (christened at Braga on 1 July 1694). Other later records are those of Maria Almeida (married Domingos Sousa in Rabo de Peixe on 31 March 1768) and Antonio Jose D'Almeida (married Juliana de Jesus in Boaventura on 18 May 1860).
The Almeida family have traced the development of their surname from the fifteenth century onwards, a period that is unusually well documented for Portuguese surnames. Three coats of arms have been awarded to Almeida families in Portugal and in the former Kingdom of Sicily. The heraldry typically features gold torteaus or besants on a red field, symbols traditionally associated with wealth and power.
In contemporary times the surname remains common throughout Portugal and its former colonies. It is widely found in Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and in communities of Portuguese diaspora, including the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Canada. The surname also appears as a first name or a middle name in some Portuguese‑speaking cultures.
Several variants of the name exist, reflecting regional pronunciation, transcription differences and personal preference. These include Almeid, Almeyda, D'Almeida, De Almeida, Almeda, and hyphenated forms such as Almeida‑Soares or Almeida‑Silva. In Spanish‑speaking areas the form Almada is most common, while other transliterations occur in non‑Latin‑alphabetic contexts.
Typical given names associated with the Almeida surname
Male
- Antonio
- Bruno
- Carlos
- Daniel
- Joao
- Joaquim
- Jose
- Luis
- Manuel
- Paul
- Paulo
- Pedro
- Richard
Female
- Ana
- Carla
- Claudia
- Isabel
- Joana
- Maria
- Mildred
- Patricia
- Paula
- Ramona
- Sandra
- Vera
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Almeida in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 2,026 people named Almeida in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,172nd most common surname in Britain. Around 31 in a million people in Britain are named Almeida.
Origin: Iberian
Region of origin: Europe
Country of origin: Spain
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Spanish
Famous people named Almeida
- Junior dos Santos Almeida - Brazilian mixed martial artist
- June Almeida - Virologist (1930 to 2007)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.