Map of Portugal showing where the Lima arms are recorded
The Lima arms were recorded in Portugal, c. 1706.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Lisboa.
Lisbon was the seat of the Portuguese crown and the port its wealth came through. Families made rich by trade and by service to the king took arms, and the crown's heralds recorded them there.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Portugal in this period.
Peter II of Portugal
Sovereign of the period
Peter II of Portugal
1683–1706
Reigning in Portugal when the Lima arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Portugal
In Portugal, a coat of arms was a family possession that passed from a father to his children. Every legitimate descendant had the right to use the family shield without needing to change it. Younger branches of the family kept the original design, though they sometimes added small symbols to distinguish their specific line from the main branch.
Granting authority
The Cartório da Nobreza acted as the official body that managed and regulated noble titles and coats of arms in Portugal.
How they got arms
Families typically inherited their arms through bloodline, though they could also receive new grants from the crown for distinguished service.
Where arms were recorded
Coats of arms were officially recorded in the books of the Cartório da Nobreza starting in the year 1512.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Portugal.
Origin & History of the Lima Family in Portugal
The surname Lima originates from the geography of northern Portugal, specifically taking its name from the Lima River. Families who adopted this name were often associated with the noble houses that held lands along the riverbanks during the Middle Ages. By the time the family established a documented presence in Lisbon in 1706, they were already part of a long-standing tradition of Portuguese lineages that had spread from their ancestral northern roots into the capital. During the eighteenth century, members of the Lima family in Lisbon were often involved in the administrative and social life of the city as it recovered from the economic shifts of the era. Their move to the capital reflects a broader trend of regional families seeking new opportunities in the growing urban center of Lisbon, where they integrated into the professional and social hierarchies of the Portuguese kingdom.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
limus
Latin term meaning mud, slime, or silt.
This name
LimaRefers to a person who lived near the Lima River or a muddy area.
also spelled
Limah
Limae
Limaz
Lymma
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Sottomayor-Pizarro, José Augusto de, Linhagens Medievais Portuguesas: Genealogias e Estratégias (1279-1325), 1999
Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Registos Paroquiais de Lisboa, 1706
Mattoso, José, A Nobreza Medieval Portuguesa: A Família e o Poder, 1981
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paleMilitary strength, and a fortified defence
paleMilitary strength, and a fortified defence
