Yes, it's a devotional name. Maria do Corpo de Deus de Costa Maria do Corpo de Deus = Mary of the Body of God de Costa = the "real" family surname
Portuguese "de" = Spanish, French "de" = Dutch "van" = German "von" Devotional surnames were not originally family surnames, but later they can become one. Maria de Sao Jose = Mary of Saint Joseph Maria do Nascimento = Mary of the Birth (of Jesus) Maria da Conceicao = Mary of the Conception Maria da Luz = Mary of the Light (after Our Lady of the Light) Along XVIIIth Century, almost all women have devotional instead of familiar surnames. You will find lots and lots of Maria de Jesus, Maria da Conceicao, Maria do Rosario, Maria de Sao Pedro, Maria da Piedade, etc. Sometimes these surnames refered to birth's date saints: children born or baptized near Christmas could be named "do Nascimento"; near Saint Joseph's day, "de Sao Jose", etc., but it's not a rigid rule. Combined with family surnames: Maria da Luz Pereira or Maria Pereira da Luz. Sometimes these combos go on and become a family name: "Pereira das Neves", "Pereira da Luz", "Silveira do Nascimento". Other devotional surnames came from saints' epithets, like Joao Batista (John the Baptizer), Joao Evangelista (John the Evangelist), Francisco Xavier, Francisco de Assis, applied to a single person, who passed to its descendants. In Vila do Topo, there was a Joao Batista de Santana who become the origin of a vast family Batista. JS Lopes ________________________________ De: carmen furtado <[email protected]> Para: [email protected] Enviadas: Segunda-feira, 13 de Abril de 2009 13:32:26 Assunto: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: "de" or "da" I have a "Maria do Corpo do Deus deCosta" on my family tree - are the two 'dos' correct? Thanks. Carmen ________________________________ From: Marek Delacroix <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 2:19:18 AM Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: "de" or "da" Thank you Cheri...Our family name is Da Avila Brazil...but I have seen it De Avila Brazil...so it could be either and be right? Thank you ________________________________ From: Cheri Mello <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 5:41:30 PM Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: "de" or "da" "de" means of. "da" is a contraction for "of the" is is used with feminine words. "do" is a contraction of "of the" and is used with masculine words. These are literal translations, so it doesn't always make sense with surnames. They are just prefixes. -- Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, R. das Tainhas, Achada Veja quais são os assuntos do momento no Yahoo! +Buscados http://br.maisbuscados.yahoo.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
