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
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:

http://junior.te.pt/escolinha/anosLista.jsp?id=212&p=5&d=ing&t=apr

http://www.transparent.com/br/ingles/intermediario/palavras-em-ingles-usadas-em-portugues

http://www.publico.pt/Sociedade/portugal-um-pais-de-marias-e-rodrigos-1544015

http://www.irn.mj.pt/sections/inicio

http://algunsnomesestranhos.blogspot.co.uk/

The beautiful "Maia" tradition in Portugal

The name of the fifth month of the Julian calendar, the month of May (in Latin, Maius and Maio, in Portuguese language) probably had its origin in the word  Maia, the mother of Mercury.


In Roman tradition,  Maia  personified the awakening of nature in the spring and is also the goddess of fertility and the projection of vital energy.   Maia is symbol of spring.   

In Portugal it is a tradition to decorate the doors of houses and windows and other places with common gorse flowers.  The tradition requires that the locks and latches on all windows and external doors of the houses are decorated with branches of gorse in bloom, called "Maia". Farmers should also be vigilant and place the flowers inside the animal corrals.
If doors or windows do not hold a branch of Maia,  it is believed that "the devil will come and suck the blood of those who dwell there."

This is a very old tradition  throughout Portugal, especially in the north.  Some scholars say it has to do with pagan rites associated with spring and fertility of the land and animals.  There are also those who say that this tradition may have religious roots as as story goes that Our Lady, during her the flight into Egypt, with Baby Jesus and Saint Joseph, had sowed gorse seeds along the way so that they could find their way back when returning from there. 

Another legend goes that by the time of Passover, when Jesus was in Jerusalem, the Jews marked with gorse branches the house where he was staying so that the soldiers could identify it later on and arrest him.  However, on the next day, all doors and windows of the city were decorated with flowers of gorse, making it impossible for the soldiers to find Jesus's location.  

In the Alentejo region, with particular emphasis on Beja, the "Maia" are girls who dress in white, adorned with flowers in their heads. They gather on the streets and sit on chairs  adorned with roses while other elder girls carrying small trays in hand, ask passers-by : "Sir, give some money for the  Mayan."  -  “Meu senhor, um tostãozinho para a maia"






In the Algarve, in almost all the houses it is customary to get a big man made of straw, rye, bran and rags and dress it in  white and then surround it with flowers. It is the "Maia" placed in full view of passers by.

This habit of putting yellow gorse at the doors, windows and balconies is not lost, as well as the enduring habit of making straw dolls.   However, the tradition of girls dressed in Maia has become rare nowadays.  However, on the first day of May, there are other traditional rituals such as eating chestnuts with the aim of cast the evil away.  

Some nice vocabulary to prepare you for the Maia Rituals: 

Flower - flor 

Gorse - giestas

Bunch - ramalhete

Door - porta

Window - janela

chestnuts -  amêndoa

Spring - primavera