The Meaning of "Cunha"

[Michelle Cunha]

A friend of mine who is a linguist sent me this email:

"cunha" is Portuguese for "wedge".  It is also the name of at least four small towns in mountainous northern Portugual; my guess is that the towns are named after a landform, either a wedge of land between rivers or a mountain or valley shape.  I'd bet that your family originally came from one of those towns; your original name may even have been "da Cunha", which would mean "of Cunha".

Pretty interesting! I was told "Cunha" meant "to be married into one's family," but whomever told me that was incorrect, I guess. Unless you view an in-law as a wedge!

Michelle

[Maria Sousa]

Hi Michelle,

 

My maternal grandmother was a "da cunha" from Northern Portugal.  I read somewhere that some da "cunha" names were changed to "wedge" when they came through Ellis Island, as that was the actual translation. 

 

Maria Sousa

Michelle Cunha <cunha.m...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Jack Cunha]

The explanation for the origin of the name Cunha follows:

 

 This first Conde da Cunha had two sons.  The first son became the second Earl and established his family at Viana do Castelo.  The second son led a military life and ended living in Lisbon where he founded another important branch of the family.  Both branches produced along the centuries some of the most important persons in the history of Portugal.

 

 There was a Cunha castle, near Barcelos (north part of Portugal), which gave its name to the village.  With the advent of the new Portuguese census regulations of the 18th century, everyone had to take a surname; until then only nobles had a family name.  Many people working for a certain family took their name and others took the name of his or her home village.  The large majority of today's Cunhas descend from these people who took the name.  To this day, direct descendants of the first Earl of Cunha live in Portugal.

 

 The majority of da Cunhas in Graciosa are descended from the Captain Donatary of Graciosa, Pedro Correia da Cunha, who obtained the captaincy in 1474. Pedro himself was the "..nephew of Joao Pereira da Cunha, one of the Twelve of England.  Joao Pereira da Cunha had been one of Portugal's greatest knights in the 1390 tourney." (James Guill, "A History of the Azores Islands," p. 158).  Mr. Guill also shows a photograph of the home of Pedro Correia da Cunha in Santa Cruz, the capital of Graciosa, which has been restored.

 

Jack Cunha

>>> cunha.m...@gmail.com 7/2/2007 10:20 AM >>>

[Jack Cunha]

Sorry, my first reply left off the first and most important paragraph.  This is the explanation oi received for the origins of the name Cunha:

 

      The first person to use this name was a certain Gaultier de Gascogne, a Crusader Knight originally from what is now the south of France, who took part with Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal, in the conquest of the castle of Lisbon (12th century), then part of the Moorish kingdom of Granada.

 

      He used a piece of iron as a wedge (a "cunha" in Portuguese) to break down one of the castle doors, enabling the Christian army to enter into and conquer the city.  The King of Portugal gave him the title of Conde da Cunha (Earl of the Wedge) and a vast territory in the north of Portugal, including the present towns of Povoa De Varzim, Viana Do Castelo and Barcelos.

[Maria Sousa]

Jack,

 

Thank you for sharing.  I had never heard this story.  I have traced my Cunha to the early 1700s.  A few of them had military careers and lived in Valenca "Praca de Valenca" but I have now traced them back to Paredes de Coura in 1700's.  My ancestor, Leonardo Cunha, a military captain, who lived and raised his family in Valenca, was born in Ferreira, Paredes de Coura, all in northern portugal.  After reading what you wrote, I checked the villages of Paredes de Coura and found a village called Cunha, not far from where my Cunhas were born.  I will have to check this further.  Thank you.

 

Maria Sousa

[Susan Vargas Murphy]

Hello Michelle,
I think that the person who told you that Cunha meant married into the
family was referring to a word that is not too far off. Cunhado means
brother-in-law and Cunhada is sister-in-law:)
Susan

[lorraine beaupre]

I THINK THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE WHEN MY SON IN LAW MARRIED MY DAUGHTER HE BECAME HER OVERSEER AND SHE COULDN'T MOVE WITHOUT HIS O.K EVERY PHONE CALL WAS MONITORED . WHENEVER I SAID SOMETHING TO MAKE HER LAUGH SHE HAD TO TELL HIM WORD FOR WORD WHAT WAS SO FUNNY . WHEN I'D GO OVER TO VISIT HE MADE IT SO UNCOMFORTABLE THERE I COULD HARDLY WAIT TO LEAVE.WHEN THEY CAME TO MY HOUSE TO FAMILY FUNCTIONS HE SAT THERE AND ORDERED HER AND OTHERS AROUND LIKE HE WAS THE KING  WE DIDN'T WANT TO COMPLAIN BECAUSE WE KNEW SHE HAD TO LIVE WITH HIM. AFTER 18 YEARS IN THE FAMILY . HE HAD A  FINAL HEART ATTACK AND SHE WAS LEFT WITH TWO GRANDCHILDREN THEY HAD ADOPTED . AND IT WAS LIKE LIFE CAME BACK INTO THE HOUSE .MY DAUIGHTER ONLY CRIED ONCE AT THE FUNERAL. AND IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS SHE HAS BEEN SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH HAPPIER AND SO HAVE I . WE FINALLY HAVE TIME TO SPEND TOGETHER AT FAMILY FUNCTIONS AND NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT          (THE KING)  WE HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE CLOSER AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER  WE HELP EACH OTHER OUT ALL THE TIME BECAUSE WE ARE BOTH RAISING CHILDREN ALONE.,I HAVE FOUR DAUGHTERS AND SHE AND I AND HER SISTERS CAN HAVE THE FREEDOM TO ENJOY BEING TOGETHER WITHOUT THE WEDGE HANGING OVER US.                LMB

Susan Vargas Murphy <Uberl...@aol.com> wrote:

Hello Michelle,
I think that the person who told you that Cunha meant married into the
family was referring to a word that is not too far off. Cunhado means
brother-in-law and Cunhada is sister-in-law:)
Susan

On Jul 2, 7:20ï¿1/2 am, "Michelle Cunha" wrote:
> A friend of mine who is a linguist sent me this email:
>

> "cunha" is Portuguese for "wedge". ï¿1/2 It is also the name of at least four

> small towns in mountainous northern Portugual; my guess is that the towns
> are named after a landform, either a wedge of land between rivers or a

> mountain or valley shape. ï¿1/2 I'd bet that your family originally came from one