Nickname help!
We want to name our baby Penelope but we can’t decide on a nickname? Help!
Portugal is a European country with a lot to offer ‒ secluded beaches, rugged mountains, inspiring folk music, and amazing food.
What’s more, Portuguese baby names could give you a unique and meaningful moniker for your little one.
There’s a lot of tradition in these names and even some rules that Portuguese parents are expected to follow when they’re naming their little ones.
So vamos, and see if your future baby”s name is somewhere on this list.
In this article: 📝
- What names are banned in Portugal?
- Common Portuguese names
- Portuguese baby boy names
- Portuguese baby girl names
- Names based on Portuguese words
What names are banned in Portugal?
Why would Portugal keep a list of banned baby names?
To encourage parents to use traditional Portuguese first names and keep their culture alive.
Gender-neutral names, nicknames, and foreign names are banned, though you find a way around this last rule if there’s a Portuguese version of the name you want to use.
Tom might become Tomas, Emily becomes Èmilie, and Michael becomes Miguel.
The naming rules mean that there aren’t a lot of truly unique Portuguese baby names, but if you’re taking name inspiration from Portugal instead of actually living there, any one of these traditional monikers should stand out in your local playground.
Common Portuguese names
What’s the most common first name in Portugal?
In 2022, for a boy, it was Francisco, and for a girl, Maria.
But if these aren’t doing it for you, you still have plenty of choices ‒ here are the rest of the top 10 baby names in Portugal for 2022:
- Maria: “Appeared”.
- Francisco: Meaning “free man” or “French”.
- Alice: Meaning “of a noble kind”.
- Afonso: A Portuguese and Galician form of the Old German name Alfons. It means “noble and ready”.
- João: The Portuguese version of John, meaning “Jehovah has been gracious and has shown favor”. It”s one of the most popular Portuguese boy names at the moment.
- Tomás: “Twin”.
- Duarte: “He who watches over the land”.
- Leonor: The meaning is unknown, but the name is thought to be a Portuguese variant of the name Eleanor.
- Matilde: “Mighty in battle”.
- Lourenço: “From Laurentum”.
Portuguese baby boy names
- Alexandre: Meaning “defending men”.
- André: Meaning “manly and brave”.
- Angelino or Angelo: “Messenger”.
- Artur: “Noble or courageous”.
- Ayden or Aaiden: “Little fire”.
- Bernardo: “Strong as a bear”.
- Cruz: “The cross”.
- Daniel: “God is my judge”.
- David: “Beloved”.
- Dinis: “Follower of Dionysius,” who was the god of wine.
- Eduardo: “Prosperous guardian”.
- Einar: “The lone warrior”.
- Elija: “Jehovah is my God”. There are lots of variants of this Portuguese baby boy name, including Eliah, Elias, and Élyas.
- Eloan: “Light”.
- Énaël: “God has answered”.
- Ethan: “Enduring”.
- Felix: “Successful”.
- Gabriel: “Man of God”.
- Gonçalo: “Fight or battle”.
- Guilherme: “Resolute protector”. This is a variant of William.
- Gustavo: “Staff”.
- Ilan: “Tree”.
- James: “May God protect”.
- Jannik: “God is gracious”. This is another name with a lot of versions including Janic, and Yannick.
- Javier: Meaning “bright”, this is a variant of Xavier.
- Jorge: A variant of George.
- Jose: “May God give increase”.
- Julian: “Dedicated to Jupiter”.
- Justino: “Just, upright, righteous”.
- Kylian: “Warrior”.
- Leon: “Lion”.
- Leonardo: “Lion-bold”.
- Leopoldo: “A bold man”.
- Levie or Levi: “United”.
- Liam or Lyam: “Strong-willed warrior and protector”.
- Louis: “Famous warrior”.
- Lucas or Loucas: “Man from Lucania”.
- Luciano or Lucio: “Light or illumination”, and related to the name Luke.
- Marco, Marcos, or Marques: “Of Mars” who was the god of war.
- Martim: Also meaning “dedicated to Mars”.
- Mason: “Stoneworker”.
- Mateus: “Gift of God”. Other Portuguese versions of this name include Matis, Mathies, Matiz, Matthijs, Matthéo, and Matheo.
- Maureo or Mauricio: “Dark-skinned”.
- Max: “Greatest”.
- Miguel: “Who is like God?”, this is a form of Michael
- Milann or Mylan: Meaning either “gracious” or “from Milan”.
- Nathan: “God has given”.
- Noah: Meaning “rest”.
- Oliver: “Olive tree”.
- Oscar or Oskar: “God spear”, “deer-lover”, or “champion warrior”.
- Patricio: “Patrician or noble”, a form of Patrick.
- Paulino or Paulo: “Little”, a form of Paul.
- Pedro: “A rock”, a form of Peter.
- Raphael or Rafael: “He has healed”.
- Rémy: “The oarsman”.
- Ricardo: Meaning “powerful” or “strong ruler”.
- Roberto: “Famed” or “bright and shining”.
- Rodrigo: “Famous ruler”.
- Roque: “Rock”.
- Rosario: Meaning “rosary”, this name refers to the prayers honoring the Virgin Mary.
- Rui: Meaning “famous ruler”.
- Salvador: “The savior”.
- Samuel: “Name of God”.
- Santiago: “Saint James”.
- Silverio: This is a variant of Sylvanus, who was the god of trees.
- Teodoro: “God given”.
- Thélio: This name has roots in old saints” names.
- Théo: “Divine gift”.
- Tiago or Thyago: “May God protect”.
- Valente: Meaning “strong”, this is a variant of Valentinus, which was used by three Roman emperors.
- Vicente: Meaning “conquering”.
- Vidal or Videl: “Life”.
- Zacarias: “Jehovah has remembered”.
➡️ Don”t miss our full list of 98 Portuguese Baby Boy Names
Portuguese baby girl names
- Amelia: Meaning “brave” and “diligent”.
- Ana or Anna: “Favor” or “grace” or “beautiful”.
- Beatriz: “Voyager or traveler” and “blessed”. It”s a variant of the Latin name Beatrix.
- Benedita: “Blessed”.
- Calie or Callie: “Beautiful”.
- Camila or Kamilla: “Free born”.
- Carolina: From the French meaning “song of happiness or joy”.
- Casandra or Kassandra: Inspired by the mythological prophetess who no one would ever believe.
- Carlotte: The feminine version of the male name Carlota, which means “free man”.
- Clara: Meaning “famous”.
- Cloé or Kloé: “Blooming”.
- Dayana or Dajana: “Heavenly, divine, bright, shining one”.
- Diana: Meaning “to shine”.
- Élea or Elëa: “Merciful”.
- Éléna or Elena: “The light of the sun”.
- Élise: “God is abundance”.
- Ella: “My God is my oath”.
- Ellin, Ellien, or Ellyn: “Sunlike”.
- Elyana or Elianna: Meaning “my God has answered me”, this is a feminine form of the name Elijah.
- Elyna or Élina: Meaning “torch” and related to the name Helen.
- Èmilie: Meaning “rival”. Portuguese parents can also use the variations Emilya, Emilia, Emilja, Emilía, Emmilia, Emylia, and Émilia.
- Emma or Ema: “Universal”.
- Eva: Meaning “life” or “living one”.
- Francisca: The feminine variant of the popular Portuguese name Francisco, which means “french person”.
- Hailey: “Hay clearing”.
- Hannah: “Favor” or “grace”.
- Ilyana: “Light”, “torch”, or “sunray”.
- Inês: Meaning “pure” and “gentle”.
- Isabella: “God is abundance”.
- Joana: “God is gracious”.
- Julia: “Dedicated to Jupiter”.
- Karlotta or Carlotta: Meaning “free woman”.
- Kelya: “Warrior”.
- Chiara: Meaning bright.
- Lara: “Beauty” or “water fairy”.
- Laura: Meaning “from Laurentum”.
- Léa: This name has several meanings including “lioness” and “ruler”.
- Léonie: Also meaning “lioness”.
- Lilly or Lili: “God is my oath”.
- Louna: “Moon”.
- Lya or Lia: This name has several meanings including “weary”, “lioness”, and “mistress”.
- Lyana: “Dedicated to Jupiter”.
- Madalena: “Appeared”.
- Malya or Mahlia: “Sea of bitterness”.
- Manuéla: “God is with us”.
- Margarida: “Daisy”.
- Mariana: This is the female equivalent of Marianus and means “manly”.
- Maya: Inspired by Maria, it means “sea of bitterness”.
- Mélina: “Sweet as honey”.
- Mia: “Star of the sea”.
- Mila: “Miracles”.
- Noémie: “Pleasantness”.
- Olivia: “Olive tree”.
- Rosa: “Rose”.
- Sanrevelle: A very traditional Portuguese name.
- Sarah: “Princess”.
- Sophie or Sofia: “Wisdom”.
- Talya or Tahlia: Meaning “dew from God” or “flourishing”.
- Victoria or Wiktoria: “Conqueror”.
- Zoe: “Life”.
➡️ Don”t miss our full list of 98 Portuguese Baby Girl Names
Names based on Portuguese words
Now, these aren’t traditional Portuguese names ‒ in fact, they’d probably make the “banned” list.
But if you want to honor your heritage from further afield, how about these Portuguese baby names taken directly from the beautiful language, for a more unique and rare Portuguese name?
- Alegria: Meaning “joy”.
- Amor: Meaning “love”.
- Anjo: Meaning “angel”.
- Chuva: Meaning “rain”.
- Coração: Meaning “heart”.
- Corajosa or Corajoso: Meaning “brave”.
- Escura: Meaning “dark”.
- Esperança: Meaning “hope”.
- Estrela: Meaning “star”.
- Lua: Meaning “moon”.
- Luz: Meaning “light”.
- Milagre: Meaning “miracle”.
- Neve: Meaning “snow”.
- Paz: Meaning “peace”.
- Rei: Meaning “king”.
- Roxa: Meaning “purple”.
- Sabedoria: Meaning “wisdom”.
- Sortuda or Sortudo: Meaning “lucky”.
- Terra: Meaning “earth”.
- Tesouro: Meaning “treasure”.
- Vermelha or Vermelho: Meaning “red”.
- Vida: Meaning “life”.
- Vitória: Meaning “victory”.
We hope you’ve found something that takes your fancy on this list of Portuguese baby names.
Which ones are your favorites?
Why not share them with the other moms-to-be of Peanut?