Find out how popular the last name Brandão is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brandão.

Brandão, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brandão surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brandão in America

Brandão is the 25684th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brandão surname appeared 960 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Brandão.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brandão to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Brandão

The surname Brandao is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the nickname "Brandao" which means "little fire" or "flame". It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Portugal, particularly in the Porto district, during the 12th century.

The name Brandao is thought to be derived from the Latin word "brandium", meaning a burning torch or flame. It was likely initially bestowed as a descriptive nickname upon someone with a fiery temperament or a person associated with the trade of torchmaking or fire-related occupations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Brandao can be found in the 14th century manuscript "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), which chronicles the noble families of Portugal. The manuscript mentions a knight named Afonso Brandao, who fought in the Reconquista (the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors) during the reign of King Afonso Henriques in the 12th century.

In the 15th century, during the Age of Discovery, several Portuguese explorers and navigators bore the surname Brandao. One notable figure was Joao Brandao, a navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498. Another was Ambrósio Brandao, a cartographer and explorer who participated in the mapping of the Brazilian coast in the early 16th century.

The Brandao surname also has historical ties to the Portuguese town of Barcelos, where a prominent noble family called the Brandões resided. This family traced their lineage back to the 12th century and played a significant role in the region's history.

Other notable individuals with the surname Brandao include:

1. Tomé de Sousa Brandao (c. 1487 - c. 1555), a Portuguese explorer and the first Governor-General of Brazil.
2. Antonio Brandao (1584 - 1637), a Portuguese historian and author of the "Monarchia Lusitana", a monumental work on the history of Portugal.
3. Francisco Brandao (1601 - 1680), a Portuguese Benedictine monk and historian, known for his work "Monarchia Lusitana".
4. João de Deus Ramos Brandao (1805 - 1864), a Brazilian poet and playwright.
5. Raul Brandao (1867 - 1930), a renowned Portuguese writer and journalist, considered one of the greatest Portuguese novelists of the 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brandão

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brandão.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brandão was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brandão has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brandão was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brandão, please contact us.

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