"Manhans"/ "Manhamis" family name - Ribeira Grande, S. Miguel

[Carlos Melo]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever stumbled upon the family name "Manhans"/ "Manhamis"? 

"Manhans" may mean "mornings" in Portuguese (modern spelling "manhãs"). 

I'm just curious about its origin. It's not found in RR's book, I've checked. 

Here is an example of one my ancestors with this family name:

Francisco da Costa Manhans, married to Ana da Silva, father of the groom Manuel da Silva:

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-C-1751-1768/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-C-1751-1768_item1/index.html?page=164

Manuel da Silva is referred to as (i) Manuel da Costa Manhamis in his son's baptism record (bottom right):

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-B-1770-1776/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-B-1770-1776_item1/index.html?page=109

but only as (ii) Manuel da Costa in his daughter's (my direct ancestor, Monica de Sao Jose) marriage record:

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-C-1784-1798/SMG-RG-ESTRELA-C-1784-1798_item1/index.html?page=28

Thanks,

Carlos

[Cheri Mello]

I would say it's an alcunha and it gets added and dropped as the priest/scribe sees fit. It may make sense (and you may get the correct spelling) if you collect all kids in the family. Sometimes an alcunha gets passed on for a few generations and sometimes it doesn't.

Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: São Miguel island: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada

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[Carlos Melo]

Thanks Cheri!

You're probably right. 

The surname "Manhãs" can be traced back to Minho, northern Portugal, most likely an adaptation of the French-Swiss family name "Magnan", but I was unable to find the ancestor from Minho in S. Miguel, and this claim of a French-Swiss origin is questionable at best as I found no reliable sources. So, this was likely a nickname-turned-family name, quickly lost after a few generations. 

Cheers,

Carlos

[Jennifer S.]

If you already found the origin of the name, this could be just a coincidence, but I did a quick search of my files and found a Manuel Fernandes, O Manhanas. His family is on the list of the Sephardic Jews persecuted by the Inquisition in Braganca. 

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[Carlos Melo]

Thanks Jennifer!

Unfortunately, the marriage records of the parish of NS Conceicao end in 1699, which is why I wasn’t able to find the ancestor. But many persecuted Jews moved from mainland Portugal to the Azores islands during the inquisition, so maybe Manuel Manhanas and my ancestor are related. Which parish is yours from?

Carlos

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[Fábio Márquez]

Não seria esse sobrenome "Manhaes" ?

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[Carlos Melo]

It's possible. I think "Manhaes" is found in Brazil and allegedly derived from Minho, but I think the Sephardic origin is more likely given the sources.

[Carlos Melo]

Follow-up:

I found this resource with a list of family names of sephardic origin, which includes the name Manhanas. 

https://education.myheritage.com.br/article/sobrenomes-dos-cristaos-novos/

Some of the most common family names in São Miguel, especially Ribeira Grande, match those adopted by "New Cristans" (Cristaos Novos) who moved to Portugal after being expelled from Spain in the late 15th century and then moved to the Azores. This information is nothing new, but I hope that this list will be useful to you all as a starting point. You may then contact the Jewish Community of Oporto (www.comunidade-israelita-porto.org) or Lisbon (www.cilisboa.org) if you'd like to apply for Portuguese citizenship:

https://saofrancisco.consuladoportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/consular-matters/consular-services/citizenship-for-sefardi-jews

Jennifer S. was right on the money, as shown by historical documents on taxes imposed on New Christians who used Ribeira Grande as their port of entry (I am unable to share them because they're behind a paywall, but some of them are available to read online).

Best regards,

Carlos

[Boyd McKee Kitchen]

Carlos,

I attended a class at Roots Tech 2024 given by Daniel Taddone about Spanish and Portuguese surnames. One point he made was that one should use caution with claims of names of sephardic origin because Cryptic Jews or New Christians adopted common Spanish or Portuguese names. The list from MyHeritage seems to be a list of otherwise common Portuguese surnames.

Boyd

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[Carlos Melo]

Which is why I recommended using the list as a starting point and contacting the Jewish Community in Porto or Lisbon.

I agree with your caveat, but genetic research tracing specific markers provides irrefutable evidence.

Carlos

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[Jorge Aparicio]

I agree with Boyd.

One must bear in mind this few principles :

A-- GENERAL

1.- Surname = Persistent family name (Nom de famille)

2.- Surnames began LEGALLY SPEAKING in Western Europe 

(England 1520 - France - Spain 1501 and few others) in the 16th 

century. NOT BEFORE.

Obviously. when it was ruled. there were alive people born in

the last half of the 15th century say 1450-1500.

3.- Need for surnames was collecting taxes directly for the

crowns of the new Modern Age states. instead for the local

nobility-

4- Surnames could be chosen from the place of birth. the

craft. or making persistent the patronym 

( i.e. son of  {the name of the father} ).

5.- Even that there were church books in certain parishes.

the obligation of register every vital event in the 5 church

books for every person was ruled in Council of Trento in

1563.

B.- PEOPLE OF JEWISH RELIGION

In Europe. these belong to many ethnic origins. not 

necessarily semitic.  

Inhabitants of the Medieval kingdom of Kipchak of 

14th century were not but the state religion was Jewish. 

Many of them form part of Ashkenazy Jews of Northern 

Europe.

Different of those are Sephardic ones which belong to

Cartago and Hebrews of the Diaspora.

They all have in common that they pursued the

integration in the societies they went.

That is apparent in the language they used then

and now.  Medieval Spanish in the south ( ladino )

and Medieval Southern Teutonic ("Germanic") in

the north ( yiddish ).

Obviously. when the law came they took surnames

common in the country they lived in.

So. there are NO Jewish Western surnames whatsoever.

Listings found since years in several places or in the InterNet

pursue commercial interests of different businesses.

It happens the same with heraldic shields.

All this businesses were created mainly for people of USA

long ago. for they were seen with enough vanity and money

to spend. And then extended to everyone who wants to buy

"nobility" with a nice drawing and a dubious genealogy

copied from books with lists of real noble ancestry.

Regards.

                       Jorge.

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[Carlos Melo]

Hi Jorge,

Several genetic markers link the population of the Azores island to Jewish ancestry based on research studies conducted by objective scientists, not by researchers from for-profit corporations. 

As Boyd stated, Cryptic Christians adopted Portuguese names, which is why the list is long.

No one mentioned the concept of Western Jewish names during this email exchange. The family name Manhans has been identified in historical records of the inquisition in Braganca, not by Youtubers claiming its origin from Minho.

I personally know people who’ve acquired Portuguese nationality through this path. None was seeking ancestors from an aristocratic background. They were more interested in an EU passport. The process is lengthy and stringent, requiring all records, as listed in the website of the Portuguese consulate in San Francisco, the link that I shared.

Best regards,

Carlos

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[Jorge Aparicio]

To be correct, EVERY inhabitant in Portugal

had to take a surname when the rule came

into effect in the kingdom. Not only Jews

and New Christians.

More over when Philip II of Spain became 

King of Portugal in 1580, bringing the 

Inquisition with him, and provoking the 

flight of Jews and New Christians to 

Holland.

Some of them finally went to New Ámsterdam

actual New York in the 16th century.

The phrase "Western Jewish names" is

simply an abbreviated way to call those

listings so widely spread and loosely used

as real proved knowledge.

Historiographical serious studies analyse

certain groups in their context and time.

No one should take that and loosely extend

it to present individuals except with a proven

genealogy line, i.e., with documents.

What I mean is that generalization is a poor 

mean to base a genealogy research, and 

usually ends in a wrong work.

One must maintain focus on time and place.

Regards,

           Jorge.

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[Jennifer S.]

Boyd has a valid point about surnames and not jumping to conclusions. At the same time, a sizable population of Sephardic Jews fled Spain to Portugal, where there was already a population. But unlike Spain, they were not permitted to leave but instead were forcibly converted. 

So both are true. People should not jump to conclusions based on surnames alone - of course. AND, there are historical documents about Jewish populations in the Azores, but, unfortunately, many of these genealogies are untraceable. 

As for the Turkish origins of Ashkenazi Jews, this theory has been debunked. Jews worldwide (Ashkenazim and Mizrahim) share overlapping genetic markers. 

Jews are an ethno-religion. But not the only ones. Others exist, like the Druze, for example. 

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