Almeida (surname)

Almeida is a common surname in Portuguese-speaking nations of Portugal, Brazil and in West India, which was at one time colonized by the Portuguese. It is a toponym derived from the town of Almeida in Beira Alta Province, Portugal, or for any of a number of similarly named places in Portugal. In other instances it is a toponym derived from Almeida in the Province of Zamora, Spain.

There are several versions for the origin of the name Almeida. But what everyone agrees is that the name is of Arabic origin. Some say that it comes from the Arabic Al Maidda and that it means the table, because the village is located on a vast plateau, on the plateau of the tables. There are also those who claim that it comes from the Arabic Almeidan which means field or place of horse racing. Frei Bernardo de Brito, born in Almeida and chief chronicler of the kingdom, claims that Almeida derives from the configuration of the land on which the village is built and whose original name is Talmeyda.[1]