I have put together, at this website http://www.geocities.com/papagaia2/alcunhas.htm some of the "alcunhas/nicknames," that appear in my ancestry. . "os papagaios," is my "da Silva Se' family alcunha. The "da Silva Se' surname began with the marriage of a Manuel Goncalves Se' and Maria da Silva in the mid 1600s. Their descendants became known by the "da Silva Se' surname for generations, both on my paternal as well as my maternal lines. When my maternal grandparents migrated to the USA in 1906, they became known as "da Silva." Over the years some family members used "de Silva," and others shortened it even further to just "Silva.". Pat Silva Corbera Luis Beal <luisbeal@yahoo.com> wrote: Galego - someone from Galiza (spain) Couto-It is a last name too but I am not sure what they mean when they call it to someone. Luis KW might Pêra- means pear, they guy might have had a pear orchard, or he might have had a beard just on the chin area. Luis Beal tiamaria wrote: This is a question for the group regarding the various "nicknames" and other attachments I have seen while researching my family. I have found some descriptives that I can understand, ie: o rico, o pequeno. Sometimes words appear that I know are occupations; ie: pescador, lavrador, etc. However- does anyone know what "O Couto" is? or - "O Pera"? Also- someone in my line is "O gallego". I could not find that in a Portuguese dictionary. (Unfortunately I can only seem to find Brazilian Portuguese dictionaries!) I know in Spanish a "Gallego" can be a slang term for a Spaniard, or it can mean specifically a Galician or Castilian, or that it can sometimes be used in a derisive manner, depending on context. Any ideas? BTW- since I have once again seen references to Sephardic ancestry, that certain family names (Pereira,Sampaio) MAY indicate it- how does one REALLY know? I mean- these people are long dead. But what makes people so sure that their ancestors were indeed jewish? Now- I have found some people in my line who were Pardo- which I understand means mulatto and Moura- moorish. So it would appear that I have black and moorish ancestors. But the point in question- is there something in the various records that defines jewish heritage? If people are simply basing belief on family surnames- well that is liking saying everyone whose last name ends in -stein is jewish because a lot of German jews used names ending in -stein. I love this forum! It is great for exchanging ideas and information. MAry da Silva Frost ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx "Not to know what happened before we were born is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors." Cicero, Roman orator __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx