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.
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| Registrar Office in Portugal |
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:
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| Official List of names in Portugal |
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?
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| "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
There is no
"official names' list" in Brazil
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
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| Brazilian weird names
The rules for First
Names in
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
The list of the most popular names last year caused no
surprise the Portuguese people.
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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
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
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Aportuguesamento
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| Stop | Parar |
| Football | Futebol |
| T-shirt | Camisola |
| CD | |
| Rock | |
| Shampoo | Champô |
| Tennis | Ténis |
| Jazz | |
| Pop | |
| Basketball | Basquetebol |
| Bus | Autocarro |
| Shopping Centre | Centro comercial |
| Sweatshirt | Camisolão |
| Goal | Golo |
| Made in... | Feito em... |
| Penalty | Penalti |
| Aftershave | |
| CD-ROM | |
| Walkman | |
Spray
| Vaporizador |
| Snack bar | Café / Pastelaria |
| Donut | |
| Volleyball | Voleibol |
| Golf | Golfe |
| Heavy metal | |
| Ketchup | |
| Sandwich | Sandes / Sanduíche |
- Research Sources:
