Pinto Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Pinto last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Pinto last name
Meaning of the Pinto last name: "chick" or "painted". Pinto is a Portuguese surname from pinto, "chick", a nickname for a small or young man, or "painted, speckled", for a ruddy face. The last name is common in northern Portugal, in Brazil and among Goan families. Explorer Fernão Mendes Pinto wrote of Asia.
Arms associated with the Pinto name
Portugal gathered coats of arms in great armorials, and heraldry associated with Pinto belongs to that tradition.
Get your full Pinto family history
This is only a glimpse of the Pinto story. The full Pinto 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 Pinto coat of arms. Get the full Pinto report.
Pinto name FAQ
What does the Pinto name mean?
"chick" or "painted". Common variants include Pintos, Pintor.
Where does the Pinto surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, Angola and Mozambique.
Is there a Pinto coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Pinto 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).