Miranda (surname)

This article is about the surname Miranda. For the given name, see Miranda (given name). For other uses, see Miranda.

Miranda

Pronunciation	mer-ANN-dah
Origin
Meaning	"the admired place"; "watchtower"
Region of origin	Latin
Other names
Related names	de Miranda

Miranda is a surname with two different origins. In the first, it is a locational surname derived from "Miranda", "Mirando", and "Amiranda", representing a variety of placenames called "Miranda" in Portugal, and Spain. The placename derived from the Latin mirandus ("wonderous", "lovely"), but within the context of a placename, the meaning becomes "the admired place". In the second, it is a derivative of the northeastern Spanish word miralla ("watchtower"). The surname Miranda is recorded as early as 1565 in London, England. There are variants, including "de Miranda". Miranda is also common as a feminine given name.

The name Miranda comes from the Latin word "mirabilis" meaning admirable, marvelous.

First found in Asturias, birthplace of the Christian Reconquest of Spain from the Muslims. Miranda is a western Asturian name in origin, although it spread first throughout the peninsula as Christian Spain moved south, west and to the Americas. The Miranda family originally lived in one of the provinces of Oviedo, Lugo, Segovia, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The more famous Mirandas of known Asturian origin are Venezuelan liberator General Francisco de Miranda and Spanish artists Carreno de Miranda and Sebastian Miranda. A Captain Miranda is recorded to have defended the breach in the siege of Rhodes. Among the early explorers of the New World was Luis de Miranda, who accompanied Pedro de Mendoza to the Río de la Plata in 1534. He was present at the founding of Buenos Aires in 1536.

It is the name of a mountain south of Tineo, the first Asturian town with a royal charter. The township south of Tineo and of Mt. Miranda is called Belmonte de Miranda. Either region is the likely origin of the first recorded person to use the surname, Alvar Fernandez de Miranda, who was rewarded with noble arms by King Ramiro for his heroic military efforts in the Battle of Clavijo which ended the tribute to the moors of 100 virgins.

"Miranda" is also used to mean "a beautiful site" and a "watchtower." This likely explains the appearance of the name in southern regions such as Miranda del Castaner and Miranda de Ebro.

Story of the Mirandas from Asturian Mythology: According to the story, one day while walking through the woods this man met a beautiful woman, a woman more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen before. Soon after, they were married and had two children, a boy and a girl. Then one day the woman went to privately bathe in the river. She thought she was by herself and so she transformed into her true form, a large snake-like creator called a Sierpe. But she wasn't alone, as her husband had been watching her. When she realized this she was shocked and ashamed, so she grabbed her two children under her arms and ran away. While running away she dropped the girl into the river and she floated away. This girl would then be found by another family and adopted. When she became an adult she eventually married a man who was the first Miranda.

People with the surname or its variants include:

Arts and entertainment

• Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian singer and motion picture star, popularly known for wearing fruit headdresses
• Juan Carreño de Miranda, Spanish painter (1614-1685)
• Juan García de Miranda (1677-1749) Spanish painter, appointed Painter to the King
• Pedro Rodriguez de Miranda (1696-1766) Spanish painter of the late-Baroque period, nephew of Juan Garcia de Miranda, and related to several other de Miranda artists

Sports

• Edison Miranda, professional boxer from Colombia
• Patricia Miranda, Olympic wrestler
• Footballers
  • Enílton Menezes de Miranda (born 1977), Brazilian
  • George Miranda dos Santos, Brazilian
  • João Miranda de Souza Filho, Brazilian
  • José Ely de Miranda, Brazilian
  • Márcio Miranda Freitas Rocha da Silva, Brazilian
  • Leandro Costa Miranda (born 1983), Brazilian
  • Leandro Gil Miranda da Silva, Brazilian
  • Luís Mário Miranda da Silva, Brazilian
  • Rafael Miranda da Conceição (born 1984), Brazilian
  • Richard Garcia Miranda (born 1975), Brazilian footballer
  • Roberto Miranda, Brazilian
  • Rogério Miranda Silva (born 1984), Brazilian footballer

Other occupations

• Ernesto Miranda, defendant and appellant of Miranda v. Arizona
• Eurico Miranda, president of Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama
• Francisco de Miranda, South American revolutionary who is regarded as a forerunner of Simón Bolívar and other revolutionaries
• João Bernardo de Miranda, Angolan politician and diplomat
• Rafael Simoes Miranda, Brazilian Designer
• Religious
  • José Luis de Jesús Miranda, religious figure, founder of Creciendo en Gracia (Growing in Grace International Ministry)
  • Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez, Mexican clergyman