Cape Verdean Last Name Generator

Browse Cape Verdean last names one surname at a time: the most common island surnames like Lopes, Tavares, Semedo and Varela, religious names such as Livramento and da Graça, family names that arrived from elsewhere like Benrós and Spencer, and New England spellings such as DaRosa.

About Cape Verdean last names

Cape Verde's surnames are Portuguese, and the reason is the islands' history. The archipelago was uninhabited when Portuguese ships arrived in the fifteenth century, and it was settled by Portuguese colonists and by enslaved West Africans, who were baptized under Portuguese names. Their descendants carry the surnames of that colonial society, so a short stock covers much of the country. Lopes, Gomes, Tavares, Mendes, Fernandes, Monteiro, Semedo and Varela are among the most common.

This list has 305 entries. About three in five are single surnames, from the everyday Portuguese stock to names tied to the islands, such as Évora, Fortes, Baessa, Landim and Centeio. Religious names (Livramento, Rosário, Anjos) and particle forms (da Graça, dos Reis, de Pina) sit beside them. A few families came from elsewhere: Benrós, Benoliel, Wahnon and Cohen arrived with Jewish families from Morocco and Gibraltar in the nineteenth century, Spencer and Rendall are British in origin, Montrond is French, and Lubrano and Frusoni are Italian.

About a quarter of the entries are double surnames, built the Portuguese way with the mother's family name before the father's. A small share are emigrant spellings from New England, where Gonçalves is often written Gonsalves and da Rosa became DaRosa. The stock is small, so this list is shorter than most on the site.

How to choose Cape Verdean last names

• For a full name, put a Portuguese given name in front, as in Filomena Semedo or Adalberto Fortes. Two given names are common on official papers.
• Most people carry two family names, the mother's first and the father's last. Pair two single entries yourself, or take a ready double such as Lopes Tavares or Gomes da Luz. The doubles here are pairings of single names from this list, not the names of particular families.
• Particles are written in lower case and stay with the name: da Luz, dos Santos, de Pina. In the United States the same kind of name is often closed up, as in DaRosa and DoCanto.
• Keep the accents for a character who lives on the islands or in Portugal: Évora, Gonçalves, Brandão. Emigrant families in English-speaking countries often drop them.
• A surname says little about one family's origins. The same Portuguese names are carried by Cape Verdeans of every background, because they were passed on through baptism and slavery as well as through descent.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Cape Verdean last names?

Lopes, Gomes, Tavares, Mendes, Fernandes, Monteiro, Semedo and Varela are among the most widespread, along with Silva, Santos, Pereira, Rodrigues, Fortes and Andrade. All of them are on this list. The order of the list is not a frequency ranking.

Why are Cape Verdean surnames Portuguese?

The islands had no inhabitants before Portuguese settlement in the fifteenth century. The population descends from Portuguese settlers and from enslaved West Africans, who were baptized and registered under Portuguese names, which is why surnames from African languages are rare on the islands. Kriolu nicknames are a separate, living tradition and are not surnames.

Which Cape Verdean surnames are not Portuguese in origin?

A small group. Benrós, Benoliel, Wahnon, Cohen, Levy and Anahory came with Jewish families from Morocco and Gibraltar in the nineteenth century, many of whom settled on Santo Antão and Boa Vista. Spencer and Rendall are British in origin, Montrond goes back to a French settler on Fogo, and Lubrano and Frusoni are Italian.

Why do some entries look like DaRosa or Gonsalves?

Those are emigrant spellings. Cape Verdeans have lived in southern New England since the whaling era, and there particles were often closed up (DaRosa, DoCanto, DeBurgo), spellings shifted (Gonsalves, Barboza, Texeira) and some names were put into English, such as Perry for Pereira and Rose for Rosa. They suit a character from New Bedford or Providence better than one from Praia or Mindelo.

Related generators

All 305 Cape Verdean last names