Araújo

Araújo or Araujo or Arauxo is a Spanish Galician and Portuguese surname. The surname Araújo is of toponymic origin derived from a place where a nobleman held land. The place name Araújo is taken from the Galician and Old Portuguese word "araujo" which is a poisonous plant with white fragrant flowers known in Latin as Araujia sericifera. In Portugal it seems to be a habitational name from any of various places called Araújo: in Portugal, in Coimbra, Elvas, Estremoz, Lisbon, Torre de Moncorvo, Monção, Serpa, Setúbal, and Villa Verde.

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History

The progenitor of this surname Araújo is Rodrigo Anes, who was lord of the lands known as Araújo located in Southern Kingdom of Galicia in modern NW Spain close to the Miño/Minho river. This river marked the border between Kingdom of Galicia (Spain) and Northern Portugal, which had been a part of the Kingdom of Galicia in the 12th century. Rodrigo Anes better known as Rodrigo Anes de Araújo descended from the Royal Families of France via a Knight named Jean Tiranoth born around 1100 A.D who defeated the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, in a battle at the River Lima, Portugal. Jean Tiranoth with a number of Burgundian and French crusaders moved to Galicia to participate in the reconquesta of the Iberian Peninsula. It was very common for Frenchmen to participate in the reconquest of Spain and Portugal from Islamic control between the 8th and 14th centuries. Their reward for participating were reconquered lands. Jean Tiranoth was a contemporary of Afonso Henriques the first King of Portugal and witnessed the separation of County of Portugal from the Kingdom of Galicia in 1139.

Rodrigo Anes de Araújo constructed the Castle of Araújo in the Kingdom of Galicia and married Doña Mayor Alvares de Aza, who was the daughter of a noble family which was somehow related to Rodrigo Anes de Araújo. Doña Mayor Alvares de Aza was the daughter of Don Rodrigo Alvares de Aza and Doña Maria Pires de Ambia. From this marriage descended the Araújo family of Kingdom of Galicia, who were lords of many houses in the Kingdom of Galicia through marriage.

Later in 1492, the Kingdom of Galicia along with other Kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula joined to become the Kingdom of Spain. Throughout Spain's colonial period between the 16th and 19th century a number of Galician Spaniards bearing the surname Araújo in the service of the King of Spain moved to colonize Spain's Empire in North America and South America.

One of the grandchildren of Rodrigo Anes de Araújo known in Portugues chronicles as Vasco Rodriguez de Araújo, decided to leave Spain and settle in Portugal, were he entered the service of the Kings of Portugal. Throughout Portugals colonial period a number of Portuguese bearing the Araújo surname moved to settle Portugal's overseas empire.

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