Among the most distinctive—and most intriguing—of Portuguese surnames are the religious or devotional names: dos Santos (“of the saints”), de Jesus, da Conceição (“of the Conception”), da Cruz (“of the cross”). These names, among the most common in Portugal, speak of a deeply Catholic culture—but they carry a genealogical complexity that few surnames match. A religious surname can reflect simple piety, or it can point to a foundling ancestor, or to a family of converts. This guide explains these names honestly, and what they may mean for your family history.
The devotional names
Portuguese religious surnames draw on the imagery and devotions of Catholicism, and once you recognise the pattern they are easy to spot:
- dos Santos (of the saints), de Jesus (of Jesus), da Cruz (of the cross).
- da Conceição (of the [Immaculate] Conception), do Rosário (of the Rosary), da Assunção (of the Assumption).
- das Neves (of the Snows, a Marian devotion), do Espírito Santo (of the Holy Ghost), de Deus (of God), dos Anjos (of the angels).
The de/da/do/dos/das particle means “of” or “of the,” linking the person to a saint, a feast, or a sacred devotion. As surnames, they are widespread across Portugal, and dos Santos in particular is among the very most common of all Portuguese names.
Source one: piety and devotion
The most straightforward origin of a religious surname is simple devotion. In a profoundly Catholic society, families and individuals took—or were given—names honouring a saint, the Virgin under one of her titles, or a sacred mystery, as an expression of faith. A child might receive a devotional surname connected to the feast day near their birth or baptism, or to a devotion cherished by the family. For many bearers, then, a religious surname means exactly what it appears to: an inheritance of Portuguese Catholic piety, with no hidden story behind it.
Source two: foundling ancestry
A second, more poignant origin is often overlooked. Foundling children (expostos)—those abandoned and raised by the church, an institution, or a charitable family—were very frequently given religious surnames, precisely because they had no known family name to inherit. A child left at a foundling wheel and baptised with parents recorded as unknown (de pais incógnitos) might be named, say, Maria dos Santos or José de Jesus. So a religious surname in your tree—especially one appearing suddenly, with no clear parental line—can be a signal to consider a foundling ancestor, a real and common feature of Portuguese genealogy.
Source three: New Christian ancestry
A third possible origin reaches into a difficult chapter of Portuguese history. After the forced conversion of Portugal’s Jews in 1497, the New Christians (cristãos-novos)—converts and their descendants—often adopted or were given Portuguese surnames, including devotional and nature names, as they entered Christian society. As a result, a religious (or nature) surname can, in some families, be associated with converso ancestry—though it is important to stress that such names were far too common and had far too many innocent origins for any surname alone to prove Jewish descent.
An honest caution: a religious surname such as dos Santos or de Jesus cannot, by itself, establish foundling or New Christian ancestry—these names were borne by vast numbers of families for reasons of ordinary piety. Treat a religious surname as a prompt to investigate these possibilities in the records, never as proof of either. And note that Portugal’s former citizenship route for descendants of Sephardic Jews closed to new applicants in 2026, so a religious surname offers no citizenship shortcut; see the Sephardic route and naturalisation.
Why this matters for research
The three possible origins mean a religious surname is a genuine research clue—but an ambiguous one that must be resolved in the documents. If a devotional name appears in your tree, ask which story fits: is it inherited straightforwardly from parents (piety), does it appear at a foundling’s baptism with unknown parents (foundling), or is there other evidence pointing to converso heritage? Only the records—baptisms, foundling records, and the wider family history—can tell you, and sometimes the honest answer is uncertainty. But recognising that a religious surname may carry one of these deeper stories is itself valuable, opening lines of investigation a researcher might otherwise miss.
Researching a religious surname
To research a religious surname, apply the standard Portuguese method with these possibilities in mind. Trace the family in the parish records, watching closely for the point at which the religious surname first appears and whether it is inherited from a parent or emerges at a baptism with unknown parents. Consider foundling and institutional records if a foundling origin seems likely. And approach any question of converso ancestry with both openness and rigour, seeking documentary or, where appropriate, DNA evidence rather than relying on the name. A religious surname, handled this way, can lead to some of the most moving discoveries in Portuguese family history—the story of a foundling given a saint’s name, or of a family that carried its faith, or its secret, across the generations.
