Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
0 comments 
The IBGE Released the First National Survey on the Frequency of Last Names in Brazil, Revealing Which Families Are in the Majority and Which Names Spread Throughout the Territory, with Origins Ranging from Religion to Nature.
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics announced this Tuesday (4) the first official list of the most frequent last names in the country.
Silva leads with 34.0 million occurrences, equivalent to 17% of the population, followed by Santos (21.4 million, 10.5%).
The survey allows consultation of each family’s position in the ranking and provides the public with details about the frequency and distribution of names.
-
These living root bridges and ladders are over 700 years old and help indigenous people survive in one of the rainiest regions in the world.
-
From sertanejo star to international investor: Ana Castela invests millions in a mansion in the USA, creates a themed accommodation in Orlando, and shows that the “boiadeira” also wants to grow away from the stage.
-
The 10 most stunning motorhomes in the world: a $3 million trailer with a rooftop nightclub and garage for a Ferrari, “palaces on wheels” with Italian marble, private cinema, and five-star hotel luxury for billionaires.
-
Trump wanted to spend $400 million on the White House, but the courts prohibited the million-dollar construction.
What the New Ranking Shows
According to IBGE, the presence of Silva is massive and widespread across all regions.
The surname derives from Latin and refers to “forest” or “woodland.”
The interpretation associated by the institute is that families adopted the term due to a connection with areas of dense vegetation, in addition to its wide circulation in Portuguese tradition.
Soon after, Santos appears as an abbreviated form of All Saints.
Its usage, according to the institute, gained strength by identifying people born on November 1st, All Saints’ Day, and was widely adopted by those converted to Christianity in different historical periods.
Following this, the ranking of the most frequent names is concentrated among lineages of strong Portuguese and Iberian roots.
Oliveira ranks third, with 11.7 million records.
Then come Souza (9.2 million) and Pereira (6.9 million), rounding out the top five positions.
The remaining spots include Ferreira (6.2 million), Lima (6.1 million), Alves (5.8 million), Rodrigues (5.4 million), and Costa (4.9 million), which make up the group of the ten most recurrent among Brazilians.
Origins of the 10 Most Frequent
The trajectory of last names in Brazil reflects Portuguese migrations, processes of religious conversion, references to localities and trades, as well as civil registration practices spread over the centuries.
Below is a concise overview of the most accepted origins of the top ten.
- Silva
Of Latin root, it means grove, thicket, or forest. It became ubiquitous in the Iberian Peninsula and, by extension, in Brazil, due to colonial heritage and the practice of adopting generic surnames.
- Santos
Shortened form of “All Saints.” Traditionally attributed to those born on All Saints’ Day, also disseminated in baptism and Christian conversion contexts. Its graphic simplicity and religious weight helped consolidate its popularity.
- Oliveira
Refers to the olive tree, a Mediterranean symbol. In Iberian onomastics, it designates families linked to areas with olive groves or that adopted the name by symbolic association to the tree and olive oil.
- Souza/Sousa
Graphical variant of toponymic origin linked to the Sousa River in northern Portugal. The form Sousa is more traditional in Portugal; Souza gained ground in Brazil due to orthographic simplification and common usage.
- Pereira
Toponymic surname also phytonymic associated with pear tree (the tree) or properties with that name. Expansion occurred with colonization and parish records adopted during the colonial period.
- Ferreira
Derived from blacksmith or from places called “Ferreira,” indicates a connection to metalworking trades or to territories with that toponym in the Iberian Peninsula. The association with a common occupation in the past explains its diffusion.
- Lima
Has dual origin: it can be toponymic, linked to the Lima River (northern Portugal/Galicia), or derived from the object file (tool), when associated with trades. In Brazil, both roots coexist, contributing to the high frequency.
- Alves
Patronymic formed from the personal name Álvaro. In Iberian tradition, suffixes like “-es” and “-ves” mark descent (“son of”), which favored the multiplication of lineages with this ending.
- Rodrigues
Another classic patronymic, meaning “son of Rodrigo”. The popularity of Rodrigo in the Peninsula, especially during the Middle Ages, boosted variants like Rodríguez (in Spanish) and Rodrigues (in Portuguese) in the Luso-Brazilian space.
- Costa
Geographical reference to coastal strip or edge of land. The strong maritime presence in the Portuguese occupation and Brazil’s coastal geography facilitated the adoption and maintenance of the surname.
Frequency and Distribution of Names
The numbers expressed by IBGE indicate the count of people with each surname in the country.
The table below shows the ten most common surnames among Brazilians:
| Position | Surname | Number of Brazilians |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Silva | 34,030,104 |
| 2nd | Santos | 21,367,475 |
| 3rd | Oliveira | 11,708,947 |
| 4th | Souza | 9,197,158 |
| 5th | Pereira | 6,888,212 |
| 6th | Ferreira | 6,226,228 |
| 7th | Lima | 6,094,630 |
| 8th | Alves | 5,756,825 |
| 9th | Rodrigues | 5,428,540 |
| 10th | Costa | 4,861,083 |
At the top, Silva gathers 34,030,104 records.
Next, Santos accounts for 21,367,475, and Oliveira reaches 11,708,947.
Souza totals 9,197,158, while Pereira reaches 6,888,212.
Between the sixth and the tenth positions, the totals are 6,226,228 (Ferreira), 6,094,630 (Lima), 5,756,825 (Alves), 5,428,540 (Rodrigues), and 4,861,083 (Costa).
The list continues with Sousa (4,797,390) and Gomes (4,046,634).
Following, appear Nascimento (3,609,232), Araújo (3,460,940), Ribeiro (3,127,425), and Almeida (3,069,183).
The surname Jesus has 2,859,490 records and coexists with other traditional lineages, such as Barbosa (2,738,119), Soares (2,615,284), Carvalho (2,599,978), and Martins (2,576,764).
Completing the list of the 30 most frequent are Lopes, Vieira, Rocha, Dias, Gonçalves, Fernandes, Santana, Andrade, and Batista.
The variation in spellings, such as Sousa and Souza, reflects both linguistic norms of different times and family preferences, as well as orthographic simplifications established in Brazil.
Why These Last Names Are So Common
The combination of Portuguese colonization, standardization of civil records, and religious practices explains much of the predominance.
Toponymic and phytonymic surnames—such as Oliveira, Pereira, Costa, and Rocha—spread by identifying localities, geographical features, or natural elements.
Meanwhile, patronymics—like Rodrigues, Alves, Gonçalves, Fernandes, and Lopes—solidified as they indicated parentage, following a model repeated over generations.
In Brazil, the history of religious conversions, especially during periods of strong Catholic influence, helps explain the strength of Santos and Jesus.
At the same time, the adoption of generic or widely used surnames in the metropolis, like Silva, gained ground with demographic expansion and the need to identify families in parish records and, later, civil ones.
How to Consult Your Own Surname
IBGE provides a public tool to search for the frequency and distribution of names and surnames.
There, it is possible to check your ranking position, incidence by federative unit, and other information of interest.
The consultation is free and open, allowing for quick comparisons between lineages and observation of regional trends.
-
Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.