Almeida
A surname taken from the name of a place called Almeida, most famously a town in Portugal.
The #2,166 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,422 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Almeida is a locational surname, originally identifying someone from a place named Almeida. The place-name is generally explained from Arabic roots used in Iberia, often connected with al-ma'ida, meaning 'the table' or 'plateau,' though older explanations and local place-name histories can vary. In surname use, it simply meant 'from Almeida.'
History
The name is strongly associated with Portugal, where Almeida is a well-known town near the Spanish border, and it also appears in Spanish and other Iberian records. As with many place-based surnames, it spread through migration and colonial-era movement, so it is now found well beyond Iberia, especially in Portuguese-speaking communities. It is also sometimes encountered as part of noble or toponymic family names in historical records.
Origin
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Fun fact
Almeida is also the name of a famous fortified border town in Portugal, known for its strategic military importance.
From the historical record
“under General Crauford to fall back, which they did after making a gallant resistance, and on the 16th they took shelter under tlie guns of Almeida. In the retreat he commanded the rear-guard, four thousand five hundred strong, and on the 24th of July he was assailed on the banks of the Coa by a French force of…”
— The Scottish Nation; or, the surnames, families ... of the people of Scotland, vol. 1