Barbosa
A Portuguese and Spanish surname originally referring to a place marked by brambles or thorny bushes.
The #1,992 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,052 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Barbosa is a habitational surname from place-names in Portugal and Spain built on the word for a bramble or thorny bush. The name is usually explained from Latin "barb-" forms associated with brambles, with the place-name meaning something like "the thorny place" or "overgrown with brambles." As a surname, it identifies someone who came from such a locality.
History
The surname is long established in Iberia and spread widely through Portuguese and Spanish-speaking communities. It is especially common in Portugal and Brazil, and it also appears in Galicia and parts of Latin America through migration and colonial-era movement. In the modern United States, it is most often found among families of Portuguese, Brazilian, or other Hispanic heritage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Barbosa is also the name of several towns and localities in the Iberian world, which helped the surname spread independently in different families.