Maia (noble family)

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The Maia family is one of the eight oldest Portuguese noble families, which can be traced back genealogically to the year 415 .

The surname Maia , which was originally used with the preposition “da” in front of it, but is sometimes used today without it, has toponymic origins. It is derived from the lands of the same name in northern Portugal . This surname is first mentioned in a document from 1097. Gonçalo Trastamires da Maia , descendant of the King of León , Ramiro II , and thus also a descendant of the King of the Visigoths Athaulf , was the second master of these lands and the first to adopt this name as a surname. His descendants carried on this surname. Gonçalo Trastamires married once and left offspring from that marriage. His grandson Gonçalo Mendes da Maia , called o lidador (German: the leader ) was one of the most important supporters of the later first Portuguese king Alfons I. A source says that he took part in a battle against Moorish militias at the age of 95 which he came out victorious but badly wounded. Another famous member of this family was his brother, Paio Mendes da Maia , who was Archbishop of Braga from 1118 to 1138 and also played a significant role in the struggle for the independence of what was then the county of Portugal from the Kingdom of León .

Like many other illustrious Portuguese family names, the name Maia has been adopted over the centuries by people who are in no way related to the progenitor of this sex, so that not every bearer of this surname can count himself to the old Portuguese nobility. In the 15th and 16th centuries, for example, it was common for Jews who had converted to Christianity , the so-called "cristãos novos" (German: "new Christians"), to take old Portuguese surnames in order to conceal their origins. Furthermore, for many centuries it was customary to use the name of the place of birth or place of residence as the surname, so that many new Maia families were created over the centuries . Today there are only a few Maias left who can actually trace their family tree back to the progenitor of the family.

Famous members of this sex: