Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all

Portuguese-speaking countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and poli ...

and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India especially in Mangalore, Karnataka 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 and Classical Latin , 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 Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

' ship ''

La Pinta ''La Pinta'' (Spanish for ''The Painted One'', ''The Look'', or ''The Spotted One'') was the fastest of the three Spanish ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first transatlantic voyage in 1492. The New World was first sighted by Rodrigo de T ...

'', 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 and perhaps ultimately from

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...

meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity.

Politicians

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisco ...

(1825–1884), President of Chile from 1876 to 1881 *

António Pinto Soares António Pinto Soares (1780 – April 6, 1865) was Head of State of Costa Rica from September 11 to September 27, 1842. He led the popular uprising that overthrew Francisco Morazán on September 11, 1842, and served as Head of State until Septem ...

(1780–1865), Head of State of Costa Rica in 1842 * Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne (1918–1984), Sri Lankan Sinhala military officer and politician *

Francisco Antonio Pinto Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes D ...

(1785–1858), President of Chile from 1827 to 1829 * Francisco Pinto Balsemão (born 1937), Prime Minister of Portugal from 1981 to 1983 *

Germán Serrano Pinto Germán Serrano Pinto (30 March 1940 – 21 May 2016) was a Costa Rican politician. He served as Vice President of Costa Rica The 1949 Constitution of Costa Rica established two vice-presidencies of Costa Rica, which are directly elected thr ...

(1940–2016), Vice President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994 * Ignacio Pinto (1723-1797), head of the Pinto family that revolted against the Portuguese colonialists in

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

João Franco João Franco Ferreira Pinto Castelo-Branco, GCTE (; (14 February 1855 in Alcaide, Fundão – 4 April 1929 in Anadia) was a Portuguese politician, minister, 43rd Minister for Treasury Affairs (14 January 1890) and 47th Prime Minister (19 ...

(1855–1929), Prime Minister of Portugal from 1906 to 1908 * John Pinto (1924–2019), Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate * Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa (born 1937), President of Portuguese sports club F.C. Porto since 1982 *

José de Magalhães Pinto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(1909–1996), Brazilian governor who successfully led a military coup d'etat of the Brazilian government in 1964 * José María Orellana Pinto (1872–1926), President of Guatemala from 1921 to 1926 * José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, Prime Minister of Portugal from 2005 to 2011 * Lakshman Pinto Jayatilaka Senewiratne (born 1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala Member of Parliament * Manuel Pinto da Costa (born 1937), economist and President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991 and 2011 to 2016 * Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (1681–1773), Portuguese nobleman and Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John and sovereign over Malta *

Alcino Pinto Alcino Martino de Barros Pinto (1955/56 – 19 November 2020) was a São Tomé and Príncipe, São Toméan politician. He was President of the National Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe from November 28, 2012 to November 22, 2014. He succeeded ...

(1950s–2020), São Toméan politician * Carlos Mota Pinto (1936–1985), Portuguese politician *

Elsa Teixeira Pinto Elsa Maria Teixeira de Barros Pinto is a São Tomé and Príncipe politician, and the country's former Defence and Justice Minister and from December 2018 until September 2020 Foreign Minister. In 2003 and 2004 (at least), she was a member of t ...

, São Toméan politician * José Antonio Pinto Castro (1817–1887), Costa Rican Vice President, politician, and judge * José Concepción Pinto Castro (1829–1898), Costa Rican judge and politician *

Manuel Guillermo Pinto Manuel Guillermo Pinto (1783 – June 28, 1853) was an Argentine general officer, general and Legislator, lawmaker. Pinto was born in Buenos Aires, and studied at the Illuminated Block, Royal College of San Carlos. He completed further studie ...

(1783–1853), Argentinian general * Manuel Pinto (Scouting) (1938–2008), Ugandan parliamentarian and Chief Scout *

Mário Pinto de Andrade Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade (21 August 1928 – 26 August 1990) was an Angolan poet and politician. Biography He was born in Golungo Alto, in Portuguese Angola, and studied philosophy at the University of Lisbon and sociology at the Sorbon ...

(1928–1990), Angolan politician and poet * Pio Gama Pinto (1927–1965), Kenyan politician *

Sérgio Sousa Pinto Sérgio Paulo Mendes de Sousa Pinto (born July 29, 1972 in Lisbon) is a Portugal, Portuguese politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Socialist Party (Portugal), Socialist Party; part of the Party of European Socialists. Political ...

(born 1972), Portuguese politician and Member of the European Parliament *

Shirly Pinto Shirly Pinto ( he, שירלי פינטו; born 15 March 1989) is an Israeli Deaf social-political activist, who served as Member of Knesset for National Unity. Pinto is fluent in Israeli Sign Language as well as Hebrew, and is one of the foun ...

(born 1989), Israeli deaf activist and politician

Sports players

* Dirceu José Pinto (1980–2020), Brazilian Paralympic boccia player *

João Domingos Pinto João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * J ...

(born 1961), Portuguese footballer and manager of FC Porto * José Manuel Pinto (born 1975), Spanish footballer * Raffaele Pinto (1945–2020), Italian racing driver *

Ricardo Sá Pinto Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto (born 10 October 1972) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a forward, currently manager of Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal. He was known for his fighting spirit, best displayed in hi ...

(born 1972), former Portuguese international footballer and present coach * Antoine Pinto, (born 1991), French Muay Thai kickboxer * António Pinto (athlete) (born 1966), Portuguese long-distance runner * João Vieira Pinto (born 1971), Portuguese footballer *

Keivi Pinto Keivi Mayerlin Pinto (born December 26, 1979) is a female judoka from Venezuela, who won the bronze medal in the women's half heavyweight division (– 78 kg) at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Career S ...

(born 1979), Venezuelan judoka * René Pinto (born 1996), Venezuelan baseball player * Renyel Pinto (born 1982), baseball pitcher *

Ricardo Pinto (baseball) Ricardo Antonio Pinto Valera (born January 20, 1994) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, in the KBO League ...

(born 1994), Venezuelan baseball player * Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1965), Brazilian footballer * Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1993), Portuguese footballer

Religious leaders

Chaim Pinto Rabbi Ḥaim Pinto (1748–1845) was the leading rabbi in the seaport city of Essaouira, Morocco, known in his lifetime as Mogador, Morocco. Rabbi Pinto, himself born into a distinguished rabbinic family, had four sons, Rabbi Yehouda also known a ...

(1748–1845), leading rabbi in Morocco *

Isaac de Pinto Isaac de Pinto (10 April 1717 – 13 August 1787) was a Dutch merchant and banker of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origin who was one of the main investors in the Dutch East India Company, as well as a scholar and philosophe who concentrated on Je ...

(1717–1787), Jewish ''philosophe'' and scholar who was a key investor in the Dutch East India Company *

Josiah ben Joseph Pinto Josiah ben Joseph Pinto (c. 1565 - c. 1648) (Hebrew: יאשיהו בן יוסף פינטו) was a Syrian rabbi and preacher born in Damascus. His father, Joseph Pinto, was one of the rich and charitable men of that city. Josiah was a pupil of var ...

(1565–1648), Syrian rabbi and author * Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (born 1973), Israeli Jewish spiritual leader and Kabbalist * Evarist Pinto (born 1933), Pakistani Catholic priest, 4th Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan *

Zinia Pinto Zinia Teresa Carmen Pinto (7 September 1929 – 4 June 2013) was a Roman Catholic nun and teacher working in Karachi, Pakistan. Early life She was born in 1929 in Portuguese Goa. After finishing high school in Goa, she completed a bachelor's degr ...

(1929-2013), Pakistani Catholic nun and teacher

Explorers

* Fernão Mendes Pinto (c. 1509–1583), Portuguese explorer and writer * Alexandre de Serpa Pinto (aka Serpa Pinto) (1846–1900), Portuguese explorer of southern Africa and colonial administrator

Writers

* Ricardo Pinto (novelist) (born 1961), UK-based fantasy writer *

Sara Pinto Coelho Sara Pinto Coelho (1913 in Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe – 1990 in Portugal) was a writer of fiction, plays and children's literature in the Portuguese language. She was born in Roça Esperança, a hamlet in the island of Príncipe and w ...

(1913–1990), Portuguese writer of fiction and plays *

Silvia Corzo Silvia Milena Corzo Pinto (born October 30, 1973 in Bucaramanga, Santander) is a Colombian lawyer and presenter. Biography Her parents are Mario Corzo and Irene Pinto. After finishing high school, Corzo studied at the Universidad Autónoma de ...

(born 1973), Colombian lawyer, journalist and newscaster *

Vivian de Sola Pinto Vivian de Sola Pinto (9 December 1895 – 27 July 1969) was a British poet, literary critic and historian. He was a leading scholarly authority on D. H. Lawrence, and appeared for the defence (Penguin Books) in the 1960 ''Lady Chatterley's Love ...

(1895–1969), British poet, literary critic and historian

Academics

Aníbal Pinto Santa Cruz Aníbal Pinto Santa Cruz (; 1919 – 3 January 1996) was a Chilean economist known for his work on dependency theory and structuralist economics. From 1960 to 1965 he was director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and th ...

(1919–1996), Chilean economist *

Diana Pinto (historian) Diana Pinto (born 1949) is an intellectual historian and writer living in Paris. The daughter of Italian Jewish parents, she is married to the French political scientist Dominique Moïsi and a resident of France. Life She was educated in the ...

(born 1949), intellectual historian on Jewish identity *

Jorge Pinto Rodríguez Jorge Manuel Pinto Rodríguez, ( La Serena 18 December 1944) is a Chilean historian. He is known in Chile for his study of the history of Araucanía, social history and demography. In 2012 he gained the Chilean National History Award The Chile ...

(born 1944), Chilean historian

Other

* Freida Pinto (born 1984), Indian model and actress *

Paulo Jr. Paulo Xisto Pinto Júnior (born 30 April 1969) is a Brazilian musician best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Sepultura. He joined Sepultura after Roberto Raffan left the band in 1984, becoming Sepultura's second bassist. Although no o ...

, whose real name is Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., Brazilian bassist of the heavy metal band Sepultura * Dan Pinto (born 1960), American composer, keyboardist and drummer-percussionist *

Diana Pinto Diana Pinto is an Indian beauty pageant titleholder, who was crowned Miss India America 2009, at the 18th Annual Miss India America Pageant held at Long Beach, California on 7 August 2009. Early life and family Hailing from a Mangalorean Catho ...

, Miss India America 2009 *

Filipe Pinto Filipe Miranda Cunha Pinto known as Filipe Pinto (born in São Mamede de Infesta, Matosinhos municipality, Portugal on 3 July 1988) is a Portuguese singer that won season 3 of the Portuguese reality television music competition series Ídolos in ...

(born 1988), Portuguese singer and winner of 2009/2010 ''Ídolos'' *

George Pinto (composer) George Frederick Pinto (25 September 1785 – 23 March 1806) was an English composer and keyboard virtuoso. Life and career Pinto was born in Lambeth and baptised as George Sanders. His father, Samuel Sanders (or Saunders) died young; his mothe ...

(1785–1806), English composer and keyboard virtuoso * Joaquim Pinto (born 1957), Portuguese film director * Malucha Pinto (born 1955), Chilean actress and dramatist *

Maria Pinto (fashion designer) Maria V. Pinto (born 1957) is a fashion designer from Chicago, Illinois. She has designed clothing for Oprah Winfrey, the Joffrey Ballet, Marcia Gay Harden, and Michelle Obama. Early life Maria Pinto was born in the South Side of Chicago, Il ...

(born 1957), American fashion designer *

Sam Pinto Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

(born 1989), Filipina model and actress *

Thomas Pinto Thomas Pinto (1728–1783) was a British violinist, who led notable London orchestras of the day. Life Pinto's father, Guglielmo Pinto, left a high-ranking position in Naples for political reasons, and settled in England; he married, and he and ...

(1728–1773), British violinist

People with the given name or nickname

* Pinto Colvig (1892–1967), United States actor, cartoonist, and circus performer *

Pinto Itamaraty José Eleonildo Soares, better known as Pinto Itamaraty (born May 10, 1960 in São Luís) is a Brazilian politician. He was alderman (2001–2007) and federal deputy (2007–2015). Itamaraty is senator from Maranhão Maranhão () is a st ...

(born 1960), Brazilian politician *

Pinto Machado Henrique Pinto Machado (12 February 1926 – 21 January 2009) was a former Portuguese footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was most known for his short three-year spell at Benfica, where he won the Portuguese Cup. Career Born in Alfarelos, ...

(1926–2009), Portuguese footballer

References

{{Given name, type=both Portuguese-language surnames Sephardic surnames Spanish-language surnames Italian-language surnames Maghrebi Jewish surnames fr:Pinto