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/

Tupy or not Tupy, that’s the question.

This phrase was coined by Oswald de Andrade, a Brazilian writer who published in 1928 the Cannibal Manifesto, a way to provoke society to think of the Brazilian culture as a by-product of the European Culture, after it has been "eaten" along with the indigenous and African influences from the new land.  This was a quest for a national identity in the world of arts, especially.   

Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro

Tupi is the name for an extint Brazilian indigenous language, originated amongst the Tupi people and spoken by other 5 different indigenous groups in Brazil.   The word that names the famous area in Rio and also names the famous Brazilian club in London, Guanabara, is an example of an indigenous word used in current Portuguese.  The name for the cashew fruit in English comes from the Portuguese Cajú, which has originated from the indigenous "acajuá', in Tupi-Guarani ( group of more than 20 different indigenous languages). 


Oh, and the now so famous Siri for the iPhone, do you know that this is a Tupi word?  The word siri was used by the indigenous people to designate any type of crustacea (sea animal).   But I have no idea why Apple chose the word to designate their voice command software...  I love eating siris with molho de côco...      


By now you probably know that the Portuguese language spoken in this new land of Brazil is not the same as the one spoken in Europe and also, you understand that the language has suffered influences from a vast array of other European languages, African and Indigenous languages in Brazil and just as much as the Brazilian cuisine is so diverse, the language also reflects this vast multicultural  country.  


I have met a linguist once who told me that if we really want to "flavour" the culture of a group of people, we should look into their untranslatable words and expressions.   He would always mention the Brazilian word "cafuné", a word brought by the Africans, which is the act of stroking one's head with the fingers, caressing the hair.   Just like English has so many words to describe weather elements - I was amazed when I first learnt them, Portuguese has a few different ones to describe affection.  

Another example is in  the World top 10 list of untranslatable words: 


Saudade
Portuguese – One of the most beautiful of all words, translatable or not, this word “refers to the feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost.” Fado music, a type of mournful singing, relates to saudade. (Altalang.com)  You can find the complete list here.


"Saudade is particularly difficult word to explain because it combines several emotions at once: fierceness, longing, yearning, pining, missing, homesickness, or all or none of the above" , says Roberto Taddei, in his excelent article "Saudade".   


So, next time a Portuguese speaking person says that she/he is feeling saudades for you, now you know that besides being a complex feeling, it can be cured by being present and near to that person. Maybe a cafuné can also help cure saudades? 

What is the longest word in Portuguese?

If you answered "anticonstitucionalissimamente" , I am sorry to say, but you are wrong! 

Despite having 29 letters and 13 syllables, the word has lost its edge. The new champion has
46 letters and 20 syllables and describes the condition of people suffering from a rare disease caused by inhalation of volcanic ash.

The "Guia dos Curiosos - Portuguese language" by Marcelo Duarte, published by Panda Books, has the answer to this and other curiosities.



Did you know that the word "perereca" (type of frog) comes from the indigenous Tupi language " pere reka" and means "hopping"?   


Did you know that besides Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, there are 192 living languages ​​in the country?   

Marietta Baderna

 And my favourite finding: Did you know  the word "baderna" became a synonym with "confusion, riot" because the ballerina dancer Marietta Baderna (see picture) used to lead her fans to the height of excitement?



Marcelo says that the idea for the book arose when going through his database: In letters, Emails or questions from readers during his talks, the most recurring theme was the origin of certain Portuguese expressions.

"We repeat these expressions over and over, without knowing how they appeared... And some stories are amazingly curious. ", says Marcelo

Marcelo researched from the history of the alphabet to the history of the media. How the words were "born", how they evolved, the influence of different communities on the languages ​​of other peoples, neologisms. There are curiosities of our major writers; the origin of the names of animals, flowers, Brazilian states, acronyms, truck bumpers sayings and proverbs, names of one hundred local artists, a chapter dedicated only to football expressions and words.

And for those who are curious to know what the longest word in Portuguese language is, here it goes: 


pneumoultramicroscopicossilicovulcanoconiótico



Original text published in Almanaque Brasil.  (Portuguese Language)