Moraes Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Moraes last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Moraes last name
Meaning of the Moraes last name: from Morais. Moraes, also Morais, is a Portuguese surname for a family from Morais, a village in the district of Bragança in north-eastern Portugal, a name linked with amoras, "mulberries". The Moraes spelling is typical of Brazil, where poet Vinicius de Moraes made the last name famous.
Arms associated with the Moraes name
Coats of arms associated with the Moraes surname belong to Portuguese heraldry, whose blazon traditions reached Brazil.
Get your full Moraes family history
This is only a glimpse of the Moraes story. The full Moraes history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Moraes coat of arms. Get the full Moraes report.
Moraes name FAQ
What does the Moraes name mean?
From Morais. Common variants include Morais, Morales.
Where does the Moraes surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, Portugal and the United States.
Is there a Moraes coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Moraes coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: José Pedro Machado, Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (Lisboa, 1984); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).