What does my last name mean?

Question

My last name is Almeida........ i have never been able to figure out what it means...... any help

Answer 1

Almeida is from the Portugese town of the same name in the province of Beira. Translates loosely as "The family (Al) who lives on the plateau (ma'ida)", and dates back to the 12th century when the Moors (or Arabs) invaded the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Almeida family nameholders have had 3 Coats of Arms (2 from Portugal and 1 from the former Kingdom of Sicily) awarded to it.

Answer 2

Granny is right. Your surname is not that important to genealogy. Now since you have put your surname in let me warn you.

Beware of coat of arms peddlers. There are no laws in the United States regarding heraldry and a person is free to display one without documented proof that they are entitled to it if they wish, but it is like putting up a picture of a famous person with their surname and claiming him as their ancestor whether you know he is or not.

Many coats of arms have the same name. There are about 200 with the surname Lewis which means 200 different individuals were granted one. That doesn't mean everyone that has the surname Lewis is related to any of the 200 granted one, much less be a direct descendant.

There is nothing illegal about the business but it is very dishonest. I understand some will do "research" and "link" you to a person granted a coat of arms.

Answer 3

You could ask those who are researching the same name at the Almeida message boards at:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/almeida/
http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.almeida/mb.ashx

Good luck,
Dave
--
http://www.familypulse.org

Answer 4

Logan - It's a type of brook/creek in Ireland. My last name is from my adoptive dad, so it's not from my ancestry. My ancestors - Native American and French.. a tiny bit of British and Irish. But hardly enough to matter. I love my last name and heritage!

Answer 5

Almeida

The Portugese surname Almeida is of local origin, that is, it belongs to that group of surnames which are derived from the place of origin of the initial bearer. In this case, the surmane is derived from the place-name Almeida which is a town in portugal, (northeast area) near the Spanish border. Thus, the original bearer of the surname was identified as an inhabitant of this town and was named as such. The place named Almeida itself indicates and area of "Flat Land"

THE ALMEIDA/MARTIN /CARVALHEIRA/PINA FAMILY HISTORY
(as much as I know)
The first Almeida who came to this country was my Grandfather Joao (John), he was the son of Manuel Almeida and Anna MARTIN. He was born 20 Oct. 1895 in the district of Horta on one of the islands, in the Azores, Portugal. There is a lot of confusion about his full legal name. The understanding I have is that he was born Joao (John) Manuel Almeida. But all of the official paper work on him (passport, insurance papers) and he always told everyone that his name was Joao (John) Martin Almeida. So to stop any confusion I will use all the names used. Joao (John) Manuel Martin Almeida. He lied about his age at 16 so that he could work his way to the United States on a ship. He came to the U.S. as a poor immigrant boy hoping to find good work. Here, he later married Ermina Maria CARVALHEIRA in Pawtucket R.I. USA. She was the daughter of Louis Carvalheira and Maria PlNA. She was born on 4 Jun. 1900 in the province of Ribatejo, in the city of Torres Noves, Portugal. She came to the U.S.A. in 1919. From the marriage of Joao (John) Manuel Martin Almeida and Erminia Maria Carvalheira they had three children of their own and they adopted one child. From this marriage there are seven families, which bear the name Almeida as of this date, all live in the United States. Joao (John) Manuel Martin Almeida and Erminia Maria Carvalheira Almeida lived out the rest of their lives in Pawtucket R.I. USA.. Ermiava Maria Carvalheira Almeida died 1 May 1977 and Joao (John) Manuel Martin Almeida died 25 Oct. 1985.
* I got this by searching " almeida name ".

Answer 6

It means little to nothing realistically because your own family's history is the one that belongs to you, and the only way to learn about that is to research back one generation at a time. There really are no shortcuts.

Answer 7

Have a look the links I have posted for you
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=10&ln=almeida
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?&fid=5&fn=&ln=almeida
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?&fid=2&ln=almeida&fn=
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?&fid=8&ln=almeida&fn=
http://www.houseofnames.com/fc.asp?sId=&s=Almeida
hope these help you.

Answer 8

I dont know but I like it.

Answer 9

i think it means confused