Wednesday 2 May 2012

Everything about Names in Portugal





The registration of individuals dates back from ancient times...  However, the registration of names would be applied only to the few who held the title of citizen (free man). 


After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church became responsible for the registration of individuals and their titles, continuing the classic tradition of recording events that involved only wealthy people, be it ecclesiastical, dynastic or nobility.


It was only in early nineteenth-century when civil registry as we know it  was created with the advent of the Napoleonic Code of 1804.    All the territories under the rule of Napolean were forced to adopt the new code and this has affected the power of the Catholic Church.  

Civil registration in Portugal is officially established by the "Code of Civil Registration" of February 18, 1911.    On April 20, 1911, the "Law of Separation of Church and State" radicalized the secular state and determined that all church records (baptisms, marriages and deaths) prior to 1911 had a legal statuses. 


Registrar Office in Portugal
In general, there is a Registrar Office in each Portuguese County.  In Lisbon we find the Central Registrar which is responsible for records involving Portuguese citizens abroad and the management of any other proceeding that relates to the Portuguese people.




How people are named in Portugal


The introduction of foreign names by nationals, even graphically adapted to the Portuguese language, has been prohibited by law. For parents wishing to register their children with unusual names, an authorization will be needed issued by the legal body.   This is thought to prevent excesses of foreign vocabulary and to avoid pronunciation difficulties in the language.    The Portuguese government regulates what proper nouns (names) are admitted or
not in the  registration of children in Portugal.   For this, the government holds official name lists to which the parents can refer  when choosing the names for their kids.  
See the full list in here


Official List of names in  Portugal 
Where the Portuguese names come from? 


The Portuguese names come from Latin, Greek, German, Hebrew, Celtic, and Arabic, mainly.
Latin:  António, Mário, Cláudia, Júlia, Flávio, Diana, Marcelo, Caio, Octávio, Beatriz, Vitória, Cecília, Tércio.
Greek: Dinis, Alexandre, Filipe, André, Filomena, Irene, Catarina, Sofia, Margarida, Jorge.
Celtic: Viriato, Artur, Brígida, Fiona, Viviana.
Arabic:  Fátima, Soraia, Aida, Zuleica, Leila.
Hebrew: Isabel, Maria, João, Manuel, Susana, Elias, Miguel, Gabriel, Mateus, Matias, Rute.
Germanic: Alberto, Ivone, Matilde, Rodrigo, Alice, Ema, Leopoldo, Ricardo, Afonso, Fernando, Frederico, Carlos, Luís.
Basque:  Xavier.
Slavic: Estanislau, Olga, Vera.
Finno-Ugric: Átila.
Persian: Ciro.
Italian: Zita, Rita


Examples of traditional Portuguese names...  


In Portugal, traditional names like Mariana, José, Michel, Catarina, Jane, João, Felipe, Pedro, Antônio, Beatriz or Gonçalo are very popular. 
Less historical names were gradually absorbed and have also become very common as Catia, Sandra, Marisa, Fabio, Lara, Bruno, Vanessa and Rubem. 
The names commonly used in the Middle Ages, like Sancho, Egas, Paio, Raimundo, Fernão, Guterre, Mécia, Ximena, Urraca or Sancha are about to disappear from the national onomastics.

Do they have the same rules in Brazil? 



"Can you spell it, please?"
"Washington"
In Brazil you will find several types of names from many different roots such as Iara, Iracema, Jacira, Moacir, of Amerindian origin; Ali, Samira, a Syrian-Lebanese origin; Pietro Paola, of Italian origin; Washington, Lincoln, of Anglo-American, or corruptions of foreign names such as Uóxintom (Washington), Maicon (Michael) or Uéslei - Wesley.    




You will also find names like Manuel and Luiz (old spelling, currently not accepted in Portugal) or Manuel and Luis (correctly spelled).  

There is no "official names' list" in Brazil, therefore one can find names which are difficult to pronounce or even insulting (to its owner). 


Nowadays the registrar official does not allow parents to register their kids using names that will cause offence and embarrassment to the individual.  



Check this list for some examples of names given to individuals in Brazil that can cause offence or embarrassment: 


Brazilian weird names



The rules for First Names in Portugal: 

a) The proper names must be Portuguese. If foreign, it must be adapted graphically and phonetically to the Portuguese language.  This process is called "aportuguesamento"
b) The spelling of proper names must follow the official Portuguese spelling at the time of registration.
c) The name can not raise doubts about the gender of the individual.
d)  Brothers can not be given the same name, unless one of them is no longer alive.
e) Foreign proper names are only allowed in its original form if the person is a foreigner or born abroad, if you have another nationality in addition to Portuguese, if any of your parents is a foreigner or if any of your parents have another nationality in addition to Portuguese.


What are the most popular names in Portugal nowadays? 

The list of the most popular names last year caused no surprise the Portuguese people.   Portugal remains a country made up of Marias (5040 registered there), but not José.  Considered as a trend since  2011,  the most popular male name in the Country was Rodrigo with 2541registrations.  

But there are those who did not live happily with the name given by their parents and has, therefore, appealed to the registrar for change, like that of a Portuguese man of Chinese origin who this year changed his name because it meant in Portuguese "yes to all proposals."  

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Some people think the Portuguese Rules for names are not democratic.   "Too much intrusion of the State in our lives", says some.    Others believe this is a necessary measure to protect the national language from foreign influences.

In one hand you have the state ruling how you should name your kids, in the other hand you have a huge amount of foreign words being used in daily situations, such as "T-shirt", "villa", "snack bar" etc.   Check the table below for some examples.   


These are some of the many English words used in 
Portugal
The words in blue and italics are alternative expressions in Portuguese for the English words. The ones with no correspondent are the ones that are used in their English form. 



    Palavras inglesas
    Aportuguesamento
    StopParar
    FootballFutebol
    T-shirtCamisola
    CD
    Rock
    ShampooChampô
    TennisTénis
    Jazz
    Pop
    BasketballBasquetebol
    BusAutocarro
    Shopping CentreCentro comercial
    SweatshirtCamisolão
    GoalGolo
    Made in...Feito em...
    PenaltyPenalti
    Aftershave
    CD-ROM
    Walkman
    Spray
    Vaporizador
    Snack barCafé / Pastelaria
    Donut
    VolleyballVoleibol
    GolfGolfe
    Heavy metal
    Ketchup
    SandwichSandes / Sanduíche
       
    Research Sources: