Origins

It seems that this surname had its origin from the Palace of Camauda, of which makes mention Gonzalo Argote de Molina, which is in the Kingdom of Navarre

Kingdom of Navarre

The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

 in land of the Basques, corrupted from Camanda to Camoens, from where they passed to Galicia and then to Portugal. Some say this surname came from a bird named Camão, others from the Castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 of Camoens, old in the Kingdom of Galicia

Kingdom of Galicia

The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...

, next to Cape Finisterre

Cape Finisterre

right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....

.

The first one that can be found with this surname and from whom there is any notice was Vasco Pires de Camões (mentioned at the Chronicle of Dom João I by Fernão Lopes

Fernão Lopes

Fernão Lopes was a Portuguese chronicler appointed by King Edward of Portugal. Fernão Lopes wrote the history of Portugal, but only a part of his work remained....

, C. II, C. 43). He followed the parciality of King Peter of Castile against his brother Henry II of Castile, and for that reason passed to Portugal, at the time of King Ferdinand I of Portugal

Ferdinand I of Portugal

Ferdinand I , sometimes referred to as the Handsome or rarely as the Inconstant , was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile...

, also for following in Galicia, from where he held, his side in the pretension he had for the Crown of Castile

Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

 against Henry II, the Bastard. King Ferdinand gave him in the Kingdom of Portugal for his services the Alcaidarias-Móres of Alenquer

Alenquer

Alenquer is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 304.2 km² and a total population of 42,932 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in the District of Lisbon....

 and Portalegre, the Villages of Sardoal

Sardoal

Sardoal is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 92.2 km² and a total population of 3,992 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém....

, Punhete

Constância

Constância is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 80.4 km² and a total population of 3796 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 3 parishes, and is located in Santarém District....

, Mação

Mação

Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....

, Amêndoa and the Council of Gestaçô, and the estate farms and lands that Infanta Beatriz or Brites

Infanta Beatriz, Countess of Alburquerque

Infanta Beatrice of Portugal was the daughter of Portuguese King Peter I and a Castilian noblewoman called Inês de Castro.Beatrice was born in Coimbra around the period of 1347–1351 and she became Countess of Alburquerque when she married Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque...

, his sister, had at Estremoz and Avis, and made him one of the first Noblemen of his Council, which he later all lost. Vasco Pires de Camões followed the party of Beatrice of Portugal

Beatrice of Portugal

Beatrice was the only surviving child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Telles de Menezes. She married King John I of Castile. In the absence of a male heir, she claimed the throne of Portugal, supported by her husband. This led to the 1383–1385 Crisis, in which the Portuguese...

 and Castile at the time of King John I of Portugal

John I of Portugal

John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...

 and against him, and was arrested at the Battle of Aljubarrota

Battle of Aljubarrota

The Battle of Aljubarrota was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its...

, and Aires Pires de Camões, his cousin, for what he lost the lands he had in the Kingdom of Portugal, remaining only the lands he had at Estremoz and other assets he had at Alenquer

Alenquer

Alenquer is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 304.2 km² and a total population of 42,932 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in the District of Lisbon....

 and Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, from which his descendants made some Majorat

Majorat

Majorat is the right of succession to property according to age . A majorat would be inherited by the oldest son, or if there was no son, the nearest relative. This law existed in some of the European countries and was designed to prevent the distribution of wealthy estates between many members of...

s, mostly at Avis and at the City of Évora

Évora

Évora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....

, where they possessed many rent, retaining the patronymic

Patronymic

A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...

 Vaz. Gandara, in Armas y Triunfos de Galicia, Chapter 27, fl. 297 / p. 584, says that the Camões descend from Vasco Rodríguez de Caamaño, son of Fernán García de Caamaño, for Vasco Peres de Camões is thought to be the same he calls Vasco Fernández de Caamaño, second son of Fernán García de Caamaño and his wife Constanza Suárez de Figueroa, whose ancestry, with the de Caamaño surname, can be seen at the book said.

Aires Peres de Camões, following the party of King John I of Portugal

John I of Portugal

John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...

, was a Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 of a galley of the fleet that left from Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

 against the coast of Galicia, from where the General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 was the Count de Trastamara.

The coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 they bear is in a green field a serpent neck and head in gold that leaves from between two rocks in silver, touched in red, and for Timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 the same serpent of the shield, or its head. It seems to have allusion to the serpent of Cadmus

Cadmus

Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...

 or to the animal they call caiman, which is a lizard (see Orozco in Thezouro).