15,555 Global ALMEIDA Family Members

ALMEIDA Family History

This is a famous Portugese locational surname, which derives specifically from the town of Almeida in the province of Beira, Portugal, or from one of the several other villages so named. In a sense the origin of Almeida is arabic, in that the word dates back to the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the pre 12th century. It translates loosely as "The family (Al) which lives on the plateau (ma'ida)". The Portugese and the Spanish have not always been too proud of any supposed association with the Moorish invaders, however whether that is so or not, the Almeida family nameholders have had no less than three Coats of Arms awarded to them, two in Portugal and one by the former Kingdom of Sicily.