Reis is a common
surname in the Portuguese language, namely in
Portugal and
Brazil. It was originally a
Christian devotional family name of the
Middle Ages, probably due to the Portuguese name for the
Biblical Magi, the Reis Magos (the
MagiKings). Sometimes the surname is dos Reis (of the Kings). The Reis surname does not denote a single
genealogical origin and there are many families bearing that surname. The Reis etymology is probably from the Latin Rex ("
King"), and it is noticeable that it has relations with the
GermanReich ("Kingdom, Empire"), and the
DutchRijk (also "Kingdom, Empire"), the Germanic names Rick, Rich,
Richard, etc. The
Spanish version of this surname is Reyes.
Reis is also a common
surname in the
German language (where its alternative meaning is "rice"), a historically famous epithet derived from military rank in
Turkey (e.g.,
Piri Reis), and was also used by some European
Jews.
It is a name associated with a great number of people:
Alves dos Reis (1896–1955), Portuguese financial criminal
António Reis (1927–1991), Portuguese film director
Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior (born 1975), Brazilian footballer better known as
Juninho Pernambucano
This page lists people with the
surnameReis. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.