Tavares
A surname of likely Iberian origin, usually linked to the Portuguese place name Távora or a similar local name.
The #2,825 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,185 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Tavares is generally treated as a Portuguese surname formed from a place name, most likely connected with Távora/Távara-style toponyms in Iberia. In that sense, it originally meant someone who came from, or was associated with, that place. The ending -es is common in Portuguese and Spanish surnames, though the exact historical pathway can vary by family line.
History
The name is well established in Portugal and later spread widely to Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking communities. It also appears in Spanish-speaking contexts, where spelling and pronunciation may shift slightly, but the surname is most strongly associated with Portuguese usage. In modern times it is found across the Atlantic world through migration from Iberia and its former colonies.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Portuguese surnames often traveled with colonial migration, Tavares can be found today in both Europe and the Americas, especially in Portuguese-speaking diaspora communities.
From the historical record
“Tagert); Tahany; Tait, Taite, and Tates ; Talpey, Tandy, Tarbett, Tarolli, Tarp, Tatro and Tat- Row, Tauwalt, Tavares, Tayhon, Teahan and Tee- han, Taytasac, Tead, Teafe, Teague and Tegue, Teamoh, Tebbetts and Tibbetts, Teeling, Tegan, Teival (Teufel is the German for "Devil"), Teltow, Temel, Terbriggen, Terhorst…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)