Santos (surname)
family name
Santos is an Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Maltese surname with several variations. The English translation of Santos is Saints. A singular version, Santo, may occur. Its origin is Christian, from the Latin sanctus.
There are also other Iberian and Italo-Romance grammatical variants, De Santo, De Santos, Del Santo, Santi, Santis, Santiz, Senti, Sentis, among others, which are also very popular in countries including Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Notable individuals with the surname include:
Art
Cesar Santos (born 1982) Cuban-American artist and portrait painter
Jesse Santos (1928–2013), Filipino comics artist
Thiago dos Santos Martins (born 1988), Brazilian actor and singer-songwriter
Business and commerce
Emanuele Rodriguez dos Santos (c. 1702–1764) Portuguese-Roman architect
Isabel dos Santos (born 1973), Angolan businesswoman
Silvio Santos (1930–2024), Brazilian television presenter and business magnate
Military
Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932), Brazilian aviation pioneer
Alfredo M. Santos (1905–1990), Filipino AFP chief of staff
Paulino Santos, (1890–1945), Filipino soldier
Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Mexican-American Confederate States army officer
Music
Enrique Santos Discépolo (1901–1951), Argentine musician
Henry Santos Jeter (born 1979), Dominican singer and composer/vocals for Aventura
Jay Santos, Spanish dance singer
Joly Braga Santos (1924–1988), Portuguese composer and conductor
José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos (1929–1987), known as Zeca Afonso, Portuguese singer, composer and poet
Jovino Santos-Neto (born 1954), Brazilian musician
Lenny Santos (born 1979), Dominican-American guitarist, producer/arranger for Aventura
Lulu Santos (born 1953), Brazilian singer and guitarist
Mandy Santos, Spanish singer-songwriter
Matthew Santos (born 1982), American alternative music singer
Max Santos (born 1982), American bass guitarist, musical arranger and rapper
Tony Santos, Spanish funk/R&B singer
Patricio Santos Fontanet (born 1979), Argentine singer-songwriter
Santos (DJ) (Sante Pucello, born 1971), Italian DJ
Personalities
Birgite dos Santos (born 1989), Angolan model
Cayetano Santos Godino (1896–1944), Argentine serial killer
Riza Santos (born 1987), Filipino-Canadian beauty queen
Poetry and literature
Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (born 1941), known as Pepetela, Angolan writer
Ary dos Santos (1937–1984), Portuguese poet
Domingo Santos (1941–2018), Spanish writer
José dos Santos Ferreira (1919–1993), Portuguese-Macanese writer
Lúcio Alberto Pinheiro dos Santos (1889–1950), Portuguese philosopher
Mayra Santos-Febres (born 1966), Puerto-Rican writer
Patricia Santos Marcantonio, American fiction writer
Politics
Antonio da Costa Santos (1952–2001), Brazilian architect and politician
António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes (born 1935), Portuguese general and politician
Asela de los Santos (1929–2020), Cuban teacher, revolutionary and politician, and served as First Minister of Education in the government of the Communist Party of Cuba
Bob Santos (1934–2016), American activist for Seattle's Chinatown-International District
Conrad Santos (1934–2016), Canadian politician
Délio dos Santos (died 2020), Brazilian politician
Domitila, Marchioness of Santos (1797–1867), Brazilian noblewoman and the mistress of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil
Ely Santos (born 1977), Brazilian politician
Farley Santos, American politician from Connecticut
Francis E. Santos, Chamoru (Guam) politician
Francisco R. Santos (1930–93), Chamoru (Guam) politician
Eduardo Santos Montejo (1888–1974), owned the El Tiempo newspaper, and served as the President of Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942
George Santos (born 1988), American politician
Hélio de Oliveira Santos (born 1950), Brazilian physician and politician
Isabel Santos (born 1968), Portuguese politician
José Eduardo dos Santos (1942–2022), Angolan politician and former president of Angola
José Santos Guardiola Bustillo (1816–1862), Honduran politician and two-term President of Honduras
José Santos Zelaya (1853–1919), Nicaraguan politician
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (born 1951), Colombian president
Lena Lorraine Santos (1928–2004), American secretary, clubwoman, and civil rights advocate
Manuel António dos Santos (born 1943), Portuguese politician
Maria Isabel Coelho Santos (born 1968), Portuguese politician
Teresita Santos (born 1959), politician from the Northern Mariana Islands
Religion
Lúcia dos Santos (1907–2005), known as Sister Lúcia of Jesus, Portuguese Roman Catholic Carmelite nun and seer of Our Lady of Fatima
Rufino Jiao Santos (1908–1973), Filipino cardinal, former Archbishop of Manila
Sport
American football
Cairo Santos (born 1991), Brazilian American football placekicker
Ricky Santos (born 1984), American Canadian football quarterback
Todd Santos (born 1964), American footballer
Association football
Alejandro de los Santos (1902–1982), Argentine footballer
Aresandoro dos Santos (born 1977), Brazilian-Japanese footballer
André Bernardes Santos (born 1989), Portuguese midfielder footballer
André Santos (born 1983), Brazilian footballer
Artur Santos (footballer) (1931–2025), Portuguese footballer
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 1985), Portuguese footballer
Djalma Santos (1929–2013), Brazilian footballer
Fausto dos Santos (1905–1939), Brazilian footballer
Fernando Castro Santos (born 1952), Spanish football manager
Fernando Santos (born 1954), Portuguese footballer and football manager
Giovani dos Santos (born 1989), Mexican footballer
Gonzalo de los Santos Rosa (born 1976), Uruguayan retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is a manager
Héctor Santos (footballer) (1944–2019), Uruguayan footballer
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix, Portuguese football manager
Leslie George Santos, Hong Kong footballer
Marc Dos Santos (born 1977), Canadian football manager
Neymar da Silva Santos, Jr. (born 1992), Brazilian footballer
Nílton Santos (1925–2013), Brazilian football player
Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (born 1966), Portuguese footballer
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born 1982), Brazilian footballer known as "Kaká"
Athletics
Alison dos Santos (born 2000), Brazilian runner
Gilmar Santos (born 1970), Brazilian middle-distance runner
Héctor Santos (athlete) (born 1998), Spanish long jumper
Luíz Antônio dos Santos (born 1964), Brazilian long-distance runner
Rosângela Santos (born 1990), Brazilian sprinter
Sueli dos Santos (born 1965), Brazilian javelin thrower
Wanda dos Santos (1932–2025), Brazilian hurdler
Aquatics
Ricardo Santos, Brazilian windsurfer
Baseball
Alex Santos (baseball) (born 2002), American baseball player
Sergio Santos (born 1983), American baseball player
Victor Irving Santos (born 1976), Dominican-American baseball player
Winston Santos (baseball) (born 2002), Dominican baseball player
Basketball
Márcio Santos (born 2002), Brazilian basketball player
Fighting
Bob Santos, American boxing trainer, manager, and cutman
Edgardo Santos (born 1970), Puerto Rican professional boxer
Junior dos Santos (born 1984), Brazilian MMA fighter
Manny Santos (1940–2013), Tongan/New Zealand boxer of the 1960s and 70s
Golf
Ricardo Santos, Portuguese golfer
Gymnastics
Daiane dos Santos (born 1983), Brazilian gymnast
Volleyball
Ricardo Santos, Brazilian beach volleyball player
Sérgio Santos (born 1975), also known as Serginho or Escadinha, Brazilian volleyball player
Sidnei dos Santos, Jr.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Santos (surname)” as family name. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as family name. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4407937. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1982, 1928, 2013 and 1988.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Santos (surname)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Santos (surname) primary sources, Santos (surname) archive and Santos research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Santos (surname)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Santos (surname)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.