Fernandes Family History

Portuguese and Galician: patronymic from the personal name Fernando. This is one of the most common surnames in Portugal. It is also found in Goa and elsewhere on the west coast of India having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

Spanish: variant or altered form of Fernández (see Fernandez). Jewish (Sephardic): Portuguese surname (see 1 above) adopted at the moment of conversion to Roman Catholicism.

After the return to Judaism (generations later), some descendants retained the name their families used as Catholics.