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Almeida is an Arabic name formed by the junction of two words, "Al" the same as the, and "Majid", the same as glorious or in a geographical sense, the same as flat land. Almajid, over time, developed into Almaida, Almeyda and finally Almeida; since 1258. The Almeida family originates from the Portuguese nobility. The first to get the name, and therefore the founder of the family, was Don Payo Paes Guterres Amado, who at the time of Sancho I (1154-1211), 2nd King of Portugal, took the Arabs in Riba Coa, the Castle of Almeida and received as fiefdom D 'El Rei. From this achievement, the castle's name came to be used as a family name; the first member to receive it was the son of Don Payo, Pedro Paes de Almeida. The Almeida family, therefore, comes from the Hispanic family Gutierrez. Thus, in addition to having been a "glorious achievement" or an achievement for someone "glorious", as suggested by the word Almeida, its meaning also refers to "the castle is a glorious abode." It is therefore a surname of toponymic origin whose archaic spelling is Almeyda. It is a common name, especially in Portugal, but also in Brazil.