Teixeira
A Portuguese surname from a word for the yew tree, originally referring to someone who lived near yew trees or a yew grove.
The #3,994 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,710 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Teixeira comes from Portuguese teixo, meaning “yew tree,” ultimately from Latin taxus. As a surname, it likely began as a topographic name for someone living by yew trees or a place characterized by them. The ending -eira is a common Portuguese place- and tree-related suffix, so the name can be understood as “place of yews” or “yew grove.”
History
The surname is well established in Portugal and later spread widely to Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking communities. It is also common among Sephardic and Luso-descended families, which helped carry it into wider diaspora use. In modern records it is one of the more recognizable Portuguese surnames outside Portugal.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The root behind Teixeira is related to the yew, a tree long associated in Europe with graveyards, longevity, and sacred spaces.
From the historical record
“saro, De la Fuente, De Mnrcia, Morpurgo, Montezinos, De Cas- seres, Palacios; en vele dubbele of samengestelde namen: Gomez de la Penba, Henriquez de Castro, Teixeira de Mattos, Vaz Diaz, Vaz Nunes, Bueno de Mesquita, Franco Mendes, Cattela de Lima, Ozorio Co- la 90, Cohen de La ra, enz. Ik beb hier de spaaDscbe en…”
— De Nederlandsche geslachtsnamen in oorsprong, geschiedenis en beteekenis