Origin of Portuguese Surnames
One single name or a name followed by a patronym was the most common way that the native pre-Roman people named themselves. The names could be Celtic (Mantaus), Lusitanian (Casae), Iberian (Sunua) or Conii (Alainus). The names were clearly ethnic and some typical of a tribe or region. A slow adoption of the Roman onomastic occurred after the end of the first century a.c. with the adoption of a Roman name or of the tria nomina:praenomen (given name), nomen (gentile) and cognomen.
Most of Portuguese surnames have a patronymical, locative or religious origin.
Read more about this topic: Portuguese Name
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