Machado History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Portugal

The Machado surname comes from the Portuguese word "machado," which means "axe." Family legend has it that in Medieval Portugal in 1147, after the Moors had taken the castle at Santarem, the Portuguese attacked the castle. Mendo Moniz and his two sons Pedro and Nono Mendes beat down the door with their hatchets and were the first to enter the besieged castle. In honor of the valiant deed, one of Pedro's sons, Martim Pires, was called "Machado" as a nickname, which was then taken on as the family surname. Martim lived during the reign of Alfonso II (1152-96), and was married to Maria Moniz.

Early Origins of the Machado family

The surname Machado was first found in Portugal.

Early History of the Machado family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Machado research. More information is included under the topic Early Machado History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Machado Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Machado, Machados and others.

Early Notables of the Machado family

Prominent members of the family include

Machado of Portugal

Machado Ranking

In the United States, the name Machado is the 2,299^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Machado is ranked the 1,347^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,211 people with that name. 2

Machado migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Machado Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francisco Machado, who landed in America in 1816 3
Melchor Machado, who arrived in Guatemala in 1838 3
Joaquin Machado, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1840 3
Cayetano Machado, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1855 3
Juan Machado, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1885 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Machado migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Machado Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Martin Machado, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1836 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Machado (post 1700) +

Aldenay Vasallo Machado (b. 1977), Cuban gold medalist hammer thrower at the Central American and Caribbean Games (1998)
Mario Jose de Souza Machado (1935-2013), American eight-time Emmy Award-winning television and radio broadcaster
Michael J. Machado, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2000 5
Lucrecia Machado, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Florida, 1992 5
Raul Martins Machado (1937-2023), Portuguese footballer who played as centre-back
Octávio Machado, Portuguese football player and coach
Antônio Carlos Campos Machado (1939-2024), Brazilian lawyer and politician
Roseli Aparecida Machado (1968-2021), Brazilian long-distance runner who competed in the women's 5000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics; she died from COVID-19
Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez Machado (1960-2020), Mexican politician from the National Action Party who died at age 60 from COVID-19
Waldo Machado da Silva (1934-2019), known simply as Waldo, a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward from 1953 to 1971, member of the Brazil National Team in 1960
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html