Notes on the name "DeSilva" or DaSilva"

         Some confusion reigns over whether Stephen PALMER's wife, Maria was a "DeSilva" or "DaSilva"

         According to the Rootsweb_Portuguese_Surnames_Mailing_List, "DeSilva" is Portuguese, 
         and "DaSilva" is Spanish. 

         I had always thought that the spelling was DaSilva, but I was corrected on this by Ray & 
         Neville DeSilva PALMER, grandsons of Younather/Unather DeSilva PALMER as DeSilva is the 
         Portuguese spelling.   

         It has always been understood that Maria was from Portugal, and following the movements 
         of Stephen PALMER's Regiment, the 48th Foot during the Peninsular War, appears to bear 
         out my and other PALMER family members' views on this.    [ref. Roy, Shaw]

         Various members of the family today still use "DeSilva", but one line uses "DaSilva"
         Confused?

         So I did a Google search on both names and found:
        
            Ayrton Senna daSilva - he was from Brazil, a Portuguese speaking nation.
            Diego Rodriguez deSilva Velazquez - the Spanish Court Painter, bn Seville 1599.
            Mar�a del Pilar de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba - the one painted by Goya.
            DeSilva is prevalent as a surname in Sri Lanka, particularly amongst cricketers due to, of course,
            the Portuguese colonial influence.
          
         But maybe we should leave the last word to to Maria or Marear [as it's sometimes spelt] who brought 
         the name into our PALMER family - her headstone reads "Maria DeSilva  A Native of Portugal".

         Stephen and Maria'sheadstone in St. Mary's Churchyard, Burwell, Cambridgeshire. 
       
         PALMER Home Page
         Return to Home Page & Site Index
         Contact Details - if you think you have any information that will help me with my research and these webpages. 
And don't forget to sign my Guest Book before you leave! 
This page created 5 July 2010
and amended/updated 12:46 19/02/2019