Mello (surname)

Mello is a Portuguese surname. It's a popular name in Portugal and Brazil.

One of the oldest families of Portugal.

They come from D.Pero Formarigues de Guimarães, also called de Riba de Vizela (a place in the north of Portugal), for having lands there, a resident of Quinta do Paço de Urgezes and married with D.Gotinha, they had a son named D.Paio Pires de Guimarães (Guimarães is the first Portuguese city and capital, located in the north of Portugal), Lord of the house and the paternal lands in Riba de Vizela, which was received with D.Elvira Fernandes, daughter of D.Fernão Pires Tinhoso, butler of D.Afonso Henriques, 1st King of Portugal.

D.Paio Pires de Guimarães and his wife lived in Paço de Urgezes, near Guimarães, they had a son named D.Raimundo Pais de Riba de Vizela, He succeeded his parents and married D.Dórdia Afonso de Riba Douro, daughter of D.Afonso Viegas, also called Moço Viegas, and his wife, D.Aldara Pires, having a son D.Soeiro Raimundes de Riba de Vizela, a brave horseman, that seems to be the founder of the town of Mello, near Serra da Estrela (Mountain Range of the Star), which initially was called Merlo, the archaic form of melro - the blackbird (the blackbird is a typical bird in the sky of Portugal).

D.Soeiro Raimundes de Riba de Vizela married with D.Urraca Viegas Barroso, daughter of D.Egas Gomes Barroso and his wife, D.Urraca Vasques de Ambia, had a son, among other children, D.Mem Soares de Mello, Lord of the paternal house, of Mello and of Gouveia, a rich man, second lieutenant of D.Afonso III, 5th King of Portugal, he was at the conquest of Faro (the capital of Algarve, in the far south of the Portuguese region), was married with D.Teresa Afonso Gato, daughter of D.Afonso Pires Gato and his wife, D.Urraca Fernandes, they had children that followed with the surname de Mello, marking the beginning of the family.

(This text was taken from the Portuguese book "Armorial Lusitano" an Editorial Encyclopedia (1961) by Afonso Zúquete, António Faria, António Sergio and João Fonseca.)