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*From the mid 20th century onward, individuals tended to include their last (father's) surname in formal settings.<ref>Collaborators of Wikipedia, "Portuguese name," in ''Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_name. Visited 23 June 2017.</ref> | *From the mid 20th century onward, individuals tended to include their last (father's) surname in formal settings.<ref>Collaborators of Wikipedia, "Portuguese name," in ''Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_name. Visited 23 June 2017.</ref> | ||
*Prepositions that can be used in Portuguese surnames are '''da, das, do, dos and de''', such as in Maria da Cunha, José das Neves, Joana do Rosário, Luís dos Santos, Gabriela de Sousa, etc. and mean "from" or "of." Da, dos, etc. are contractions of the preposition de and a definite article (o, as, etc.), meaning "from the" or "of the." The current convention in Portuguese is that they be written in lower case.<ref name=Port/> | *Prepositions that can be used in Portuguese surnames are '''da, das, do, dos and de''', such as in Maria da Cunha, José das Neves, Joana do Rosário, Luís dos Santos, Gabriela de Sousa, etc. and mean "from" or "of." Da, dos, etc. are contractions of the preposition de and a definite article (o, as, etc.), meaning "from the" or "of the." The current convention in Portuguese is that they be written in lower case.<ref name=Port/> | ||
===Historical Development of Surnames=== | |||
Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as João (John). As the population increased it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. | |||
Until the 10th century, common people did not use a surname. The Councils of Trent (1545–1563) made it mandatory to keep parish records that listed names of the child, parents, and godparents. | |||
The four influences that played a part in the development of Portuguese surnames were patronymical terms, occupational terms, descriptive or nickname terms, and geographical terms (estates, manors, dominions). Examples of these influences are: | |||
'''Patronymic''', based on a parent’s name, such as João o filho de Mateus (John son of Mateus) and João Domingues (John son of Domingos). | |||
'''Occupational''', based on the person’s trade, such as João o Ferreiro (John the blacksmith) | |||
'''Descriptive or nickname''', based on a unique quality of the person, such as João o Baixo (John the short). | |||
'''Geographical''', based on a person’s residence, such as João de Aveiro (John of Aveiro). | |||
At first, surnames applied only to one person and not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names became hereditary and were used from father to son. | |||
Surnames were first used by the nobility and wealthy land owners. Later the custom was followed by merchants and townspeople and eventually by the rural population. This process took two or three centuries. In Portugal the name system was well established by the 1100s. The naming customs of Brazil were the same as those in Portugal. | |||
It is not possible to determine the exact year or even the century when a particular family name was taken. By the end of the 13th century many families determined to retain the patronymic without continuing to change the name from generation to generation. Thus, the hereditary sobrenomes (surnames) were in use by the time of the discovery of the New World. | |||
===Surname "Changes" of Immigrants in the United States=== | ===Surname "Changes" of Immigrants in the United States=== | ||
'''As Immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways.''' | '''As Immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways.''' | ||