Freitas is a very common surname in Madeira Autonomous Region, Portugal. Its origin seems related to the 300-million-year-old 'Birthing Stones' phenomenon which occurs in remote northern Portugal, locally called ', particularly in the village of Castanheira, nestled into the site of ''Freita'' Mountain, Arouca Geopark. According to the ''Dictionary of American Family Names'' citing Oxford University Press, it is a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of stony ground, from Portuguese ''(Pedras) Freitas'' ‘Broken Stones’ Late Latin ''(Petrae) Fractae''.

Gallery

File:Brasao freitas.jpg, Coat of arms of family name Freitas File:Pedra parideira (Birthing Stone), Museu Geológico de Lisboa, Portugal.jpg, ''Birthing Stone'' from Serra da Freita, in the Geological Museum of Lisbon

References

{{surname Portuguese-language surnames Toponymic surnames