Bezerra (surname)


Bezerra is a Portuguese surname of Hebrew ancestry, popular among the Sephardi Jewish settlers in Northern Portugal. The name translates to 'heifer'.
The first members of this family have origins in Ponte de Lima, the oldest Portuguese village, and can be traced back to the century XII.
By the early 1500s, Jews in Portugal were told that they had either to convert to Catholicism or leave the country, and while many converted by choice and embraced their new faith, others were faced with forced conversions, which led to false adherence to Catholicism in public with continued observance of Judaism in private. These converted Jews were commonly called 'New Christians', 'Marranos' or 'Conversos'. The Bezerra family name has been historically recognized as a 'converso' lineage of ethnic Jews converted to the Catholic Church.
The 'conversos', although remaining as Portuguese subjects, but eager to escape to as far as possible from the Portuguese Inquisition, started leaving Portugal for other countries. While some preferred the Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia, most chose Brazil as their new home, and were responsible for penetrating deep into the Brazilian backcountry and developing the land through successfully establishing sugarcane plantations, cattle farms, mills and trading businesses.
The 'conversos' Antonio Martins Bezerra and his wife Maria Martins Bezerra were amongst the first Portuguese settlers in Brazil, having arrived at the then newly acquired colony in 1535. Nowadays, people with the Bezerra surname are found mostly in the Northeast of Brazil.

Famous People

Famous people bearing this surname include: