Pinto

Pinto

Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India, France and Israel. Historically, it has been common among political elites in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, as numerous presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state have shared the surname. In many languages, Pinto means "colored" or "painted" as it derives from the Late Latin pinctus and Classical Latin pictus, and in some cases, at least from the same word in the sense "lively or restless person". It is linguistically related to the name of Columbus' ship La Pinta, meaning "The Painted One", "The Look", or "The Spotted One". Also related, though greatly diverging in meaning, is the unit of measurement pint, which comes from the Old French word pinte and perhaps ultimately from Vulgar Latin pincta meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity.

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