Cardoso Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Cardoso last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Cardoso last name
Meaning of the Cardoso last name: "thistly place". Cardoso is a Portuguese surname for someone from a place full of thistles, from cardo, "thistle", or from a village called Cardoso. The spelling Cardozo is common among Sephardic families. The last name is common in Brazil, where Fernando Henrique Cardoso was president.
Arms associated with the Cardoso name
Coats of arms associated with the Cardoso surname follow Portuguese heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Cardoso family history
This is only a glimpse of the Cardoso story. The full Cardoso 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 Cardoso coat of arms. Get the full Cardoso report.
Cardoso name FAQ
What does the Cardoso name mean?
"thistly place". Common variants include Cardozo, Cardosa.
Where does the Cardoso surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, Angola and France.
Is there a Cardoso coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Cardoso 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).