Portugal is a European country with a lot to offer – secluded beaches, rugged mountains, inspiring folk music, and amazing food. What’s more, Portuguese baby names could give you a unique and meaningful moniker for your little one.
There’s a lot of tradition in these names and even some rules that Portuguese parents are expected to follow when they’re naming their little one.
What names are banned in Portugal?
Why is Portugal keeping a list with banned names for babies? To encourage parents to use traditional Portuguese first names and keep their culture alive.
Gender-neutral names, nicknames, and foreign names are banned, though you find a way around this last rule if there’s a Portuguese version of the name you want to use. Tom might become Tomas, Emily becomes Èmilie, and Michael becomes Miguel.
The naming rules mean that there aren’t a lot of truly unique Portuguese baby names, but if you’re taking name inspiration from Portugal instead of actually living there, any one of these traditional monikers should stand out in your local playground.
Common Portuguese names
What is the most common first name in Portugal? For a boy, it’s Francisco, and for a girl, Maria. But if these aren’t doing it for you, you still have plenty of choices:
Portuguese baby boy names
- Afonso: A Portuguese and Galician form of the Old German name Alfons. It means ‘noble and ready’.
- Alexander: Meaning ‘defending men’.
- Andy: Meaning ‘manly and brave’.
- Angelino/Angelo: ‘Messenger’.
- Artur: ‘Noble or courageous’.
- Ayden/Aaiden: ‘Little fire’.
- Bernardo: ‘Strong as a bear’.
- Cruz: ‘The cross’.
- Daniel: ‘God is my judge’.
- David: ‘Beloved’.
Portuguese baby girl names
- Alice: Meaning ‘of a noble kind’.
- Amelia: Meaning ‘brave’ and ‘diligent’.
- Ana/Anna: ‘Favor’ or ‘grace’ or ‘beautiful’.
- Beatriz: ‘Voyager or traveler’ and ‘blessed’. It’s a variant of the Latin name Beatrix.
- Benedita: ‘Blessed’.
- Calie/Callie: ‘Beautiful’.
- Camila/Kamilla: ‘Free born’.
- Carolina: From the French meaning ‘song of happiness or joy’.
- Casandra/Kassandra: Inspired by the mythological prophetess who no one would ever believe.
- Charlotte/Carlotte: The feminine version of the male name Carlota, which means ‘free man’.
- Clara: Meaning ‘famous’.
- Cloé/Chloe/Kloé: ‘Blooming’.
- Dayana/Dajana: ‘Heavenly, divine, bright, shining one’.
- Diana: Meaning ‘to shine’.
- Élea/Elëa: ‘Merciful’.
We hope you’ve found something that takes your fancy on this list of Portuguese baby names. If you’d rather look somewhere else in Europe for inspiration, why not try:
-Right next door to Portugal, our list of Spanish baby names. Latin baby names are a great source of inspiration. Dutch baby names offer a more unique European name with a distinctive personality.