Araújo
Araújo or Araujo or Arauxo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐɾɐˈuʒu], Spanish: [aɾaˈuxo]) is a Galician and Portuguese surname. The surname Araújo is of toponymic origin derived from a place in the vicinity of the Miño River where a Crusader Knight of French Noble descent, Don Rodrigo Anes, was rewarded with reconquered Iberian lands during the Reconquista. The poisonous plant with white fragrant flowers known in Latin as Araujia sericifera was named after the botanist António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca (1754–1817). The surname Araújo seems to be a habitational name in Portugal and can be found in and around Portuguese cities such as Coimbra, Elvas, Estremoz, Lisbon, Torre de Moncorvo, Monção, Serpa, Setúbal, and Vila Verde.
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 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, was descended from members of the royal families of the kingdom of France and the kingdom of Burgundy via a noble Knight named Jean Tiranoth. He was born around 1100 A.D., and in a battle at the River Lima, Portugal he defeated the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques. Jean Tiranoth with a number of Burgundian and French crusaders had 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 that Kingdom through marriage.
The Bishop of Malaca, João Ribeiro Gaio, wrote about the location of the ancient Araújo family cemetery in the following manner:
Através de Bitorinho
tem sepulcros já gastados
Araújos afamados
na terra que rega o Minho,
antigos, abalisados.
English Translation
Across the Bitorinho
lands watered by the Miño River
lies the graves of
the famous Araújos
ancient renowned Noblemen.
Later, in 1492, the Kingdom of Galicia along with other Kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula were united 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 the territories of the Spanish Empire in North America and South America.
One of the grandchildren of Rodrigo Anes de Araújo known in Portuguese chronicles as Vasco Rodriguez de Araújo, decided to leave Spain and settle in Portugal, where he entered the service of the Kings of Portugal. Throughout Portugal's colonial period a number of Portuguese bearing the Araújo surname moved to settle Portugal's overseas empire.
People
- Antonio de Araujo (d. 1632), Brazilian Jesuit missionary
- Francisco Correa de Araujo (1584-1654) Spanish renaissance organist, composer, and theorist.
- Emanuel Araújo (born 1942), history professor
- Luís Araújo (born 1949), Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Air Force
- Cheryl Araujo (1961-1986), American rape victim
- Gwen Araujo (1985-2002), transgender teenager
- Eugênio de Araújo Sales (born 1920), longest-serving cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church
- Orestes Araújo (1853-1915), Uruguayan scholar
- Heriberto Araújo (born 1983), Spanish journalist and writer
- Serafim Fernandes de Araújo (born 1924), cardinal archbishop of Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Manuel de Araújo, Mozambican politician
Arts and entertainment
- Ana Paula Araújo (model) (born 1981), model
- Cândido José de Araújo Viana (1793-1875), Brazilian writer
- César Calvo de Araujo (1910-1970), Peruvian writer and painter
- Cristiano Araújo (born 1986-2015), was a Brazilian singer, performer and songwriter in Sertanejo music style.
- Juan de Araujo (1646-1712), Spanish-Peruvian Musician
- Loipa Araújo (born 1943), Cuban prima ballerina
- Manuel de Araújo Porto-alegre, Baron of Santo Ângelo (1806-1876), Brazilian poet and playwright
- Nelson de Araújo (1926-1993), renowned author
- Taís Araújo (born 1978), Brazilian actress
- Sonia Araujo (born 1970), Portuguese TV presenter
- Kate DeAraugo (born 1985), Australian singer
- Arturo Araujo (born 1967), Colombian Artist
Politician
- Álvaro Araújo Castro (born 1967), Colombian politician
- Arturo Araujo, president of El Salvador
- Consuelo Araújo (1940-2001), Colombian politician, writer and self-taught journalist
- Fernando Araújo Perdomo (born circa 1955), Minister of Development of Colombia
- Fernando de Araújo (born 1962), East Timorese politician
- Hernando Molina Araújo (born 1961), Colombian politician
- João Augusto de Araújo Castro, Brazilian diplomat and minister
- João Batista Oliveira de Araujo, Brazilian politician
- Manuel Enrique Araujo (1865-1913), President of El Salvador
- María Consuelo Araújo (born 1971), Colombian politician
- Mariano de Araújo Matsinhe (born 1953), Mozambican politician
- Theolinda Olympio de Araújo, Brazilian politician
- José Sarney de Araújo Costa, Brazilian President
Sportspeople
- Napoleon Araújo Doffigny (born 1929), South American pole-vaulting champion, Bolivian national fencing, track and football champion
- George Araujo (1931 - 1997), American boxer
- Eronilde de Araújo (born 1970), Brazilian athlete
- Marcelo Araujo, Argentine sports journalist
- Márcio Araújo (born 1973), beach volleyball player
- Mário de Araújo Cabral (born 1934), former racing driver
- Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo (born 1980), Brazilian professional basketball player
- Armindo Araujo (born 1977), Portuguese rally driver
Footballers
- Alcides Araújo Alves (born 1985), Brazilian footballer
- Carlos Luciano Araujo (born 1981), Argentinian defender
- Clemerson de Araújo Soares (born 1977), Brazilian footballer
- Denílson de Oliveira Araújo (born 1977), football winger
- Gustavo Lazzaretti de Araújo (born 1984), Brazilian central defender
- Ilan Araujo Dall'Igna (born 1980), Brazilian football forward
- José Carlos da Costa Araújo (born 1962), Brazilian football goalkeeper
- Joubert Araújo Martins (born 1975), Brazilian association football player
- Leonardo Araújo (born 1969), football midfielder
- Márcio Rodrigues Araújo (born 1984), Brazilian defensive midfielder
- Marcos Gomes de Araujo (born 1976), Brazilian striker
- Néstor Araujo (born 1991), Mexican footballer
- Oélilton Araújo dos Santos (born 1981), Brazilian-born Croatian footballer
- Patricio Araujo (born 1988), Mexican footballer
- Paulo Araujo Jr. (born 1989), Brazilian striker
- Rafael Caetano de Araújo (born 1985), footballer
- Reginaldo Araújo (born 1977), Brazilian defender
- Ricardo Martins de Araújo (born 1986), Brazilian footballer
- Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo (born 1986), Brazilian football defender
- Saulo Araújo Fontes (born 1989), Brazilian goalkeeper
- Sérgio Araújo (born 1963), Brazilian winger
- Telmario de Araújo Sacramento (born 1983), Brazilian striker
- Thiago Luiz Moreira de Araújo (born 1988), Brazilian full back
- Vinícius Vasconcelos Araújo (born 1993), Brazilian striker
Fictional
- Araújo family, Portuguese Americans in the film Mystic Pizza