Show ContentsAbreu History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Originally known as Quinta de Abreu, this family originated in Upper Normandy, Évreux, Eure, Normandy, France where Gonçalo Martins de Abreu (Evreux) (c. 1070-1230) was born. It is believed that his father was Gomes Lourenço de Abreu born (c. 1065-1185.) While the coat of arms for the family remained the same through the centuries, the reason for the migration from Normandy to Portugal is unknown.

Early Origins of the Abreu family

The surname Abreu was first found in the parish of S. Pedro de Merufe, Monção, where the oldest known nobleman is Gomes de Abreu, father of Rui Comes de Abreu and Garcia Comes de Abreu, who lived during the time of D. Afonso Henriques, on that farm, and owned other lands in the region. [1] Other sources claim the family settled in the Minho region of northern Portugal.

Early History of the Abreu family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Abreu research. Another 247 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1170, 1230, 1280, 1290, 1340, 1350, 1375, 1433, 1480, 1507, 1511, 1512, 1514, 1568, 1630, 1688, 1721, 1738 and 1756 are included under the topic Early Abreu History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Early Notables of the Abreu family

Prominent members of the family include

  • Maria Gomes de Abreu (c. 1280), daughter of Gomes Lourenço de Abreu, 2.º Senhor da Torre e Honra de Abreu (c. 1230.) Rui Gomes de Abreu, 2º Senhor da Torre de Abreu (c. 1170) was son of Gomes de Abreu...
  • Aleixo de Abreu (1568-1630) was a Portuguese physician and tropical pathologist. António de Abreu (c. 1480 - c. 1514) was a Portuguese navigator and naval officer who was under the command of Afonso d...

Abreu Ranking

In the United States, the name Abreu is the 2,858th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [2]


United States Abreu migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Abreu Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Francesca Andrea Abreu, who settled in New Orleans in 1778
  • Andrea Abreu, who settled in Louisiana in 1779
Abreu Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Manuel Abreu, who settled in New Orleans in 1823
  • Manuel Abreu, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1823 [3]
  • Antonia Paris Abreu, who arrived in New Orleans in 1838
  • Anto Abreu, who arrived in New Orleans in 1849

Contemporary Notables of the name Abreu (post 1700) +

  • Joseph Lawrence "Joe" Abreu (1913-1993), Portuguese American Major League Baseball infielder
  • Winston Leonardo Abreu (b. 1977), American Minor League Baseball pitcher
  • Bob Kelly "Bobby" Abreu (b. 1974), American Major League Baseball left fielder
  • Manuel Abreu (1959-2022), French-Portuguese football coach and player
  • José Antonio Abreu Anselmi (1939-2018), Venezuelan orchestra conductor, pianist, economist, educator, activist
  • António de Abreu (1480-1514), 16th century Portuguese navigator and naval officer
  • Cláudia Abreu (b. 1970), Brazilian actress
  • Caio Fernando Abreu (1948-1996), Brazilian journalist and literary writer
  • João Capistrano de Abreu (1853-1927), Brazilian historian
  • Abraham Abreu (b. 1939), Venezuelan harpsichordist and pianist
  • ... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. De Faria, Antonio Machado. Armorial lusitano: genealogia e heráldica. Lisboa, 1961. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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