Pinto is a Portuguese,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Jewish (Sephardic), and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all

Portuguese-speaking countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (; : CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth or Lusophone Community (), is an international organization and political organisation, political association of Lusophone nations across four co ...

and is also widely present in

Spanish-speaking countries The following is a list of countries where Spanish is an official language, plus several countries where Spanish language, Spanish or any language closely related to it, is an important or significant language. There are 20 UN member states whe ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(especially in

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. 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 "coloured" or "painted" as it derives from the

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

and

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old 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' 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 The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems, it is one-eighth of a gallon. The British imperial pint ...

, which comes from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

word and perhaps ultimately from Vulgar Latin meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity.

Politicians

*Alcino Pinto (1950s–2020), Sao Toméano politiciano *Aníbal Pinto (1825–1884), President of Chile from 1876 to 1881 *António Pinto Soares (1780–1865), Head of State of Costa Rica in 1842 *Carlos Mota Pinto (1936–1985), Portuguese politician *

Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne Captain Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne (23 April 1918 - 26 December 1984) was a Sri Lankan military officer and politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Mahiyangana from 1960-1970 and 1977-1984 and served as the Minister of Labour i ...

(1918–1984), Sri Lankan Sinhala military officer and politician * Elsa Teixeira Pinto, São Toméan politician *

Filipa Pinto Filipa Maria Gonçalves Pinto (born 29 May 1971) is a Portuguese teacher, politician and member of the Assembly of the Republic, the national legislature of Portugal. A member of the LIVRE party, she was elected to represent Porto at the 2025 ...

(born 1971), Portuguese 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 Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão (; born 1 September 1937) is a Portuguese businessman, former journalist and retired politician, who served as List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, Prime Minister of Portugal, from 1981 to 1983. Backgroun ...

(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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represe ...

(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 *

João Franco João Franco Ferreira Pinto Castelo-Branco, GCTE (; 14 February 1855 – 4 April 1929) was a Portuguese politician, minister, 43rd Minister for Treasury Affairs (14 January 1890) and 47th Prime Minister (19 May 1906 – 4 February 1908). ...

(1855–1929), Prime Minister of Portugal from 1906 to 1908 * John Pinto (1924–2019), Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate * Jorge Pinto (born 1987), Portuguese 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 * José de Magalhães Pinto (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 (born 1957), Prime Minister of Portugal from 2005 to 2011 * Lakshman Pinto Jayatilaka Senewiratne (born 1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala Member of Parliament * Manuel Guillermo Pinto (1783–1853), Argentinian general *

Manuel Pinto da Costa Manuel Pinto da Costa (born 5 August 1937) is a São Tomé and Príncipe, Santomean economist and politician who served as the first president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991. He again served as president from 2011 to 2016. Life a ...

(born 1937), economist and President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991 and 2011 to 2016 *

Manuel Pinto da Fonseca Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death. He undertook many building projects, introd ...

(1681–1773), Portuguese nobleman and Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John and sovereign over Malta *

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 Sorb ...

(1928–1990), Angolan politician and poet * Manuel Pinto (Scouting) (1938–2008), Ugandan parliamentarian and Chief Scout *

Pio Gama Pinto Pio Gama Pinto (31 March 1927 – 24 February 1965) was a Kenyan journalist, politician and freedom fighter. He was a socialist leader who was key in Kenya's struggle for independence. He was assassinated in 1965, leading many to consider him i ...

(1927–1965), Kenyan politician * Sérgio Sousa Pinto (born 1972), Portuguese politician and Member of the European Parliament * Shirly Pinto (born 1989), Israeli deaf activist and politician

Sports players

Antoine Pinto Antoine Pinto (born February 16, 1991), also known as Antoine Siangboxing, is a French former Muay Thai kickboxer who trains in Thailand. Pinto is best known as the youngest foreign fighter to have competed at the prestigious Lumpinee Stadiu ...

, (born 1991), French Muay Thai kickboxer *

António Pinto (athlete) Antonio Pinto may refer to: * António Pinto (runner) (born 1966), Portuguese long-distance runner * Antônio Pinto (composer) (born 1967), Brazilian composer of film music * António Costa Pinto (born 1953), Portuguese professor of politics a ...

(born 1966), Portuguese long-distance runner * Dirceu José Pinto (1980–2020), Brazilian Paralympic boccia player * João Domingos Pinto (born 1961), Portuguese footballer and manager of FC Porto *

João Vieira Pinto João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to 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 s ...

(born 1971), Portuguese footballer * José Manuel Pinto (born 1975), Spanish footballer * Keivi Pinto (born 1979), Venezuelan judoka * Pepe Pinto (1929–2024), Spanish footballer and coach *

Raffaele Pinto Raffaele "Lele" Pinto (13 April 1945 – 8 December 2020) was a rallying, rally driver, who won the 1974 Rally Portugal. Career Pinto began rallying in 1968. In 1972, he won the European Rally Championship in a Fiat 124 Sport Spider. The followin ...

(1945–2020), Italian racing driver * René Pinto (baseball) (born 1996), Venezuelan baseball player * Renyel Pinto (born 1982), baseball pitcher * Ricardo Pinto (baseball) (born 1994), Venezuelan baseball player * Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1965), Brazilian footballer *Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1993), Portuguese footballer *

Ricardo Sá Pinto Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto (born 10 October 1972) is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward, currently a Manager (association football), manager. H ...

(born 1972), former Portuguese international footballer and present coach * Roberto Pinto (Brazilian footballer), Roberto da Rosa Pinto (1937–1994), Brazilian footballer * Shane Pinto, (born 2000), American ice hockey player

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 *

Evarist Pinto Evarist Pinto (born 31 December 1933 in Goa, Portuguese India) is the former archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. Education He was educated at St. Thomas High School, Goa, India. In 1960 he started studying for priesthood at the St. Pius X Minor ...

(born 1933), Pakistani Catholic priest, 4th Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan *

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

(1717–1787), Jewish ''philosophe'' and scholar who was a key investor in the Dutch East India Company * Josiah ben Joseph Pinto (1565–1648), Syrian rabbi and author *

Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (, ; born September 27, 1973) is an Israeli-Moroccans, Moroccan Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi who leads a global organization called . Based in Ashdod and New York City, he is a Kabbalah, Kabbalist. ''Globes'' business j ...

(born 1973), Israeli Jewish spiritual leader and Kabbalist * Zinia Pinto (1929-2013), Pakistani Catholic nun and teacher

Explorers

Alexandre de Serpa Pinto Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, Viscount of Serpa Pinto (aka Serpa Pinto; 20 April 184628 December 1900) was a Portuguese explorer of southern Africa and a colonial administrator. Early life Serpa Pinto was born at the Quinta das Po ...

(aka Serpa Pinto; 1846–1900), Portuguese explorer of southern Africa and colonial administrator *

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; 1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' (), his autobiographical memoir, which was published posthumously in 1614. The historical accura ...

(c. 1509–1583), Portuguese explorer and writer

Writers

* Ricardo Pinto (novelist) (born 1961), UK-based fantasy writer * Sara Pinto Coelho (1913–1990), Portuguese writer of fiction and plays * Silvia Corzo (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 Lo ...

(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 t ...

(1919–1996), Chilean economist * Diana Pinto (historian) (born 1949), intellectual historian on Jewish identity * Jorge Pinto Rodríguez (born 1944), Chilean historian

Other

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

(born 1984), Indian model and actress * Dan Pinto (born 1960), American composer, keyboardist and drummer-percussionist *

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' ...

(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 *

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (28 December 1937 – 15 February 2025) () was a Portuguese sports executive, who was president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto, Porto from 1982 until 2024. He was the president with most titles won (69) in t ...

(1937–2025), Portuguese sports executive, President of sports club F.C. Porto from 1982 until 2024 * Malucha Pinto (born 1955), Chilean actress and dramatist * Maria Pinto (fashion designer) (born 1957), American fashion designer * Oreste Pinto (1889–1961), Dutch counterintelligence officer * Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. (born 1969), Brazilian bassist of the heavy metal band Sepultura *

Sam Pinto Samuelle Lynne Acosta Pinto-Semerad (born December 11, 1989) is a Filipino actress, model, singer, and video jockey ( VJ). Career Modelling career Pinto began her career as a print advertisement and television commercial model. At age 10, sh ...

(born 1989), Filipina model and actress * Thomas Pinto (1728–1773), British violinist *

Dani Pinto Daniel Augusto Macedo de Melo e Pinto (born 10 May 1958), better known as Dani Pinto, is a football manager who coaches SL Benfica de Macau and a retired footballer who played as a defender. Born in Cape Verde prior to it becoming independent ...

(born 1958), football manager

People with the given name or nickname

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), known professionally as Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Co ...

(1892–1967), United States actor, cartoonist, and circus performer * Pinto Itamaraty (born 1960), Brazilian politician * Pinto Machado (1926–2009), Portuguese footballer

References

{{Given name, type=both Portuguese-language surnames Surnames of Sephardic origin Spanish-language surnames Italian-language surnames Surnames of Maghrebi Jewish origin