Surname list From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amaral ([amaˈɾaw] or [amaˈɾal]) is a Portuguese-language surname of toponymic origin (from the central-northern Portuguese region of Beira), relatively common in Portugal and Brazil, amongst other countries. Its meaning probably comes from a plantation of a variety of grapes (azal tinto) known as amara (from the Latin language amarus/amara – "bitter", because of the taste of the fruit), used to produce wine, and the suffix -al denotes plantation. Amaral means a plantation of amaras.[1]
Another less reliable theory says that the surname Amaral would have Jewish origins and could derive from the Aramaic term Amar-Al. Amar would be the word, message, expression or concept and Al would be God, what is above, The Supreme. Amaral would mean, according to this theory, said by God.[1]
This family name is considered to be of high lineage because it descends from the King Ramiro II of León.[2] The current people with this surname are probably of pre-Roman Lusitanian, Christian Visigothic and some Sephardic Jewish and Berber descent.[1]
The coat of arms of this family name is composed of six upside-down crescent moons, possibly for an anti-Islamic reason. The Iberian Peninsula was occupied by Arab-Berber Muslims from Maghreb during the Middle Ages.[1]
A variation is do Amaral.
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