Fernão

Fernão is a masculine given name used in Portuguese, functioning as the Portuguese form of Ferdinand. It is related to cognate names such as Fernando in Spanish and Ferdinand in other languages. The name entered Iberian usage in medieval times through Latinized forms like Ferdinandus and has been associated with royal and ecclesiastical contexts. The spelling Fernão features the nasal vowel ã, a characteristic of Portuguese orthography; in modern everyday usage Fernando is more common, while Fernão is typically found in historical or literary contexts.

Notable bearers of the name include Fernão Lopes (c. 1380–1446), a royal chronicler who documented the early Portuguese monarchy; Fernão de Magalhães (ca. 1480–1521), the explorer known in English as Ferdinand Magellan, who initiated the first circumnavigation of the Earth; and Fernão Mendes Pinto (c. 1509–1583), an explorer and writer famous for Peregrinação, his account of travels in Asia and beyond. The name continues to be part of Portuguese linguistic heritage, though in contemporary Portugal and Brazil it is often supplanted by Fernando in everyday usage.