Cavaco Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Cavaco last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Cavaco last name
Meaning of the Cavaco last name: wood chip. Cavaco is a Portuguese surname from cavaco, "wood chip" or "splinter", a nickname. It is typical of the Algarve. Aníbal Cavaco Silva, prime minister and later president of Portugal, made this last name well known. The surname is also found in Brazil, though it remains much rarer there than in southern Portugal.
Arms associated with the Cavaco name
Coats of arms associated with the Cavaco surname follow Portuguese heraldry, each with its own blazon.
Get your full Cavaco family history
This is only a glimpse of the Cavaco story. The full Cavaco 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 Cavaco coat of arms. Get the full Cavaco report.
Cavaco name FAQ
What does the Cavaco name mean?
Wood chip. Common variants include Cavaca, Cavacos.
Where does the Cavaco surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, the United States and Angola.
Is there a Cavaco coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Cavaco 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).