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Portuguese Names from the 16th Century: Letters from the Court of King John III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Articles > NamesPortuguese Names from the 16th CenturyLetters from the Court of King John IIIby Juliana de Luna (Julia Smith, [email protected])
There is relatively little information available in English about
Portuguese names in period. This document should help fill the gap by
making available around 400 men's names and a handful of women's names from
a collection of letters written by King João III (who reigned
1521-1557). Although these letters cover much of the reign of João
III, they do so spottily. Some years (1533 for example) are well
represented by letters, while other years (including all years between 1542
and 1548) are not represented at all. Nonetheless the sample of letters is
large enough to be of interest both to scholars and to students of naming
practice.
|
1. Joam | 44 | 10% |
also Joham, João, Johão, Jõ, Ioham | ||
2. Antonio | 33 | 8% |
also Amtonio, Amtonyo, Anthonio, Antonyo | ||
3. Francisco | 30 | 7% |
also Françisco, Françisquo, Francisquo | ||
4. Pero | 23 | 5% |
also Pedro, Pere, Pedre | ||
5. Diogo | 21 | 5% |
also Dioguo, Diego, Dieguo, Dyogo | ||
5. Jorge | 21 | 5% |
also Jhorge | ||
7. Manuel | 16 | 4% |
also Manoel, Manoell, Manuell | ||
8. Fernam | 13 | 3% |
also Fernã, Fernão, Fermão | ||
8. Symao | 13 | 3% |
also Simão, Symaão, Symãoo, Syman | ||
8. Affonso | 13 | 3% |
also Afonso, Afomso, Affomso | ||
11. Nuno | 12 | 3% |
12. Duarte | 9 | 2% |
12. Luis | 9 | 2% |
also Lluis, Luys | ||
14. Vicente | 8 | 2% |
also Viçente, Vicemte, Vincente, Vice~te | ||
14. Martim | 8 | 2% |
also Marti~, Martym, Martin, Martinho, Martino, Marty~, Martynho | ||
14. Ruy | 8 | 2% |
also Rui | ||
14. Rodrigo | 8 | 2% |
18. Alvaro | 7 | 2% |
also Allvaro | ||
18. Amrrique | 7 | 2% |
also Anrrique | ||
18. Gonçalvo | 7 | 2% |
also Gonçalvo | ||
21. Gaspar | 6 | 1% |
also Guaspar | ||
22. Balltesar | 5 | 1% |
also Baltasar, Baltesar, Balltesar | ||
22. Lopo | 5 | 1% |
also Llopo, Lope | ||
24. Amdre | 4 | 1% |
also Andre, Andres | ||
24. Bernaldo | 4 | 1% |
also Bernalldo, Bernalldim | ||
24. Paullo | 4 | 1% |
also Paull, Pallos, Palos, Pellas, Pelas |
The following names were borne by three individuals: Bellchior (also Belchior, Belchyor); Christovam (Christovão, Christão); Cosme (also Cossme); Eytor; Fernando; Garcia; Tome (also Thome, Tomaas, Tomee)
The following names were borne by two individuals: Ayres (Aires); Bastiam; Bertollameu (Bertolameu); Denis (Denys); Domingos (Domi~gos); Estevam (Estavã); Gomez; Goterre (Gotera); Inacio; Leonel (Leon); Llucas (Lucas, Luquas); Miguel; Nicollao (Nicolaao, Nycolaa, Nicolao, Nicalao, Niolaao); Tristam (Tristão); Vasco
Surnames
Structurally, Portuguese surnames were similar to Spanish surnames at the same time. Textual evidence suggests that these names were mostly inherited surnames, rather than a descriptive particular to an individual. Thus, the son of <Fernam Allvarez> would be known as <Joham Allvarez> (an inherited surname), rather than <Joham Fenandez> (a true patronymic).
Of the 424 men, 6% (25) were mentioned without a surname. A few of them were described in the text (not as part of their names) in terms of their relationship to another person (e.g., "Afonso who is the brother of Joham de Castro"). However, an overwhelming majority (79%) of the people mentioned had a single element surname. Of these names, there were more locative surnames (31%) than any other type, though patronymic surnames were also frequently found. A significant minority of individuals mentioned (15%) had a two element surname, mostly one of the non-locative elements also found in single element surnames (either a patronymic or one of the "other" unidentified elements) followed by a locative element.
Common patronymic surnames include:
Afonso | Allvarez | Amrrique | Annes | Fernandez |
Giraldo | Gil | Gomez | Gonçallves | Jorge |
Lopez | Lourenço | Martinez | Mendez | Nunez |
Paes (from Pelayo) | Perez | Rodrigo | Suarez | Vaaz (from Vasco) |
Common locative surnames include:
d'Alboquerque | d'Allmeida | d'Atayde | da Cunha | da Costa |
da Silva | de Barros | de Briho | de Castro | de Crasto |
de lima | de Loronha | de Mello | de Menesses | de Mota |
de Paiva | de Sousa |
Other common surnames include:
Botelho | Brandam | Carneiro | Caro | Coelho |
Correa | Drago | Ferreira | Fogaça | Pinto |
Velho |
No Surname |
25
|
6%
|
||
Single element surname |
333
|
79%
|
||
Locative: <de (placename)> |
130
|
31%
|
||
Patronymic ending in <-ez> |
81
|
8%
|
||
Uninflected patronymic |
23
|
5%
|
||
Other one element |
99
|
23%
|
||
Two element surname |
63
|
15%
|
||
Patronym in <ez> +locative |
20
|
5%
|
||
Uninflected patronymic + locative |
3
|
1%
|
||
Other two element |
40
|
9%
|
A complete list of all men's names as they appear in the letters is also available.
Only a few women's names can be identified in this text. All the names are also well documented as Spanish names. However, this list is significantly different than the list of names of Portuguese women from the 15th century. Presumably this is a factor of the small sample size from the two lists, since names from each list are attested throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Spain.
Women's surnames were somewhat less complex than men's bynames. One woman had no surname mentioned, because royalty are generally not given surnames in Portuguese sources. The rest had single element surnames. None had a two-element byname. One woman used a simple locative surname while her brother used a two-element surname containing both a patronymic and locative element.