Couto Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Couto last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Couto last name
Meaning of the Couto last name: enclosed land. Couto is a Portuguese surname from couto, an enclosed estate with special privileges in medieval Portugal. Many places in the north carry the name. The writer Mia Couto from Mozambique has made the last name known internationally. Such lands enjoyed rights of sanctuary granted by the crown.
Arms associated with the Couto name
Coats of arms associated with the Couto surname follow Portuguese heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Couto family history
This is only a glimpse of the Couto story. The full Couto 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 Couto coat of arms. Get the full Couto report.
Couto name FAQ
What does the Couto name mean?
Enclosed land. Common variants include Coutto, Cotto.
Where does the Couto surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, the United States and Angola.
Is there a Couto coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Couto 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).