Almeida is a common surname in Portuguese-speaking nations of Portugal, Brazil and amongst high-ranking army officials in West India, which was at one time colonized by the Portuguese.
In other instances it is a toponym derived from Almeida in the Province of Zamora, Spain.
It is likely a derivation of toponymic Arabic Al Maidda meaning the table, because the village is located on a vast plateau, on the plateau of the tables.
Some claim that it comes from Almeidan, field or place of horse racing.
Frei Bernardo de Brito, born in Almeida and chief chronicler of the kingdom, claims that Almeida derives from the configuration of the land on which the village is built and whose original name is Talmeyda.