THIS PAGE IS AN ARCHIVE. GO TO THE HOMEPAGE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO NEXT.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. arch emisou panton
	Phil's Blogservations Saturday, February 12, 2005 Posted by philgomes 6:15 PM Fun With Surname Origins Fun With Surname Origins I was cleaning out my disposable spam-dump Hotmail account when I noticed a blurb about MSN's ancestry site. Here was the result when I typed in my surname: Portuguese: from the medieval personal name Gomes, probably Visigothic in origin, from guma "man." This name is also common on the west coast of India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists. Not surprisingly, the Gomes-density-circa-1920s map that the site generates places most Gomeses in California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. When people have asked whether I'm related to this "Gomes" or that "Gomes" (usually Lee Gomes of The Wall Street Journal), I've often joked that "Gomes" is Portuguese for "Smith," since it's so common. Wrong-o. As it turns out, "Ferreira" means "Smith." Check it out: Galician and Portuguese: Common topographic name for someone who lived by a forge or iron workings, from Latin ferraria "forge," "iron working." Interestingly, the name has little to do with the family's trade, but that family's proximity to an ironworks. I guess that's kind of like calling me "Phil Toyotadealership," "Phil Gasstation," or "Phil Newagehippieorganicfoodcooperative." HOME | OBSESSIONS | FAQ | HEROES | CAREER | BLOG | CONTACT Note that the views expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of Phil's employer, its business partners, its clients, or anyone or anything that doesn't come from Phil.	ABOUT THIS BLOG This blog not only discusses PR and media matters, but Phil's everyday observations about a variety of topics. EMAIL phil[at] philgomes[[dot}]com SYNDICATE Feedburner ARCHIVE YAHOO! IM SKYPE WISH LIST PITCH POLICY MY PHOTOS www.flickr.com Photostream RSS Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz COMMENT AND TRACKBACK POLICY Comments and trackbacks are unmoderated, though I will delete the patently offensive ones. Any comments and trackbacks are the opinions of the individual writer of those comments and trackbacks, and not those of Phil Gomes, his employer, its clients, or its business partners. If you have a bone to pick, bug the people who wrote the comment or trackback.