Govea
A surname of Portuguese association, likely taken from a place-name or local designation and later found in scholarly and academic circles.
The #6,389 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,959 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is most plausibly Portuguese in origin and may ultimately come from a place-name or regional designation. The historical excerpts show it borne by Andrew Govea, described as a learned Portuguese scholar and university principal, which supports a Portuguese literary or academic family name. The deeper place-root is not given in the excerpts, so the exact literal meaning remains uncertain.
History
The name appears in 16th-century scholarly contexts in Portugal and France, especially in connection with university life and civil law. The historical mentions in the excerpts tie it to Andrew Govea, a Portuguese academic associated with Coimbra and Bordeaux. As a surname, it seems to have been documented chiefly among educated and clerical circles rather than as a widespread hereditary name in the English record.
Origin
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Fun fact
The historical Andrew Govea cited in the excerpts was important enough to be mentioned in academic and biographical works by later historians.
From the historical record
“small poem. He proceeded in the course of the same year to Paris ; and thence, on the invitation of Andrew Govea, a learned Portuguese, who was principal of the college of Guienne, lately founded in that city, to Bordeaux. There he became pro- fessor of Latin, and taught with applause for three years, in which time…”
— The Scottish Nation; or, the surnames, families ... of the people of Scotland, vol. 1