Lira

The surname 'Lira' is still common in some parishes of this island. In Calheta, there was a noble family with this surname, to which belonged the canon Antonio Veloso de Lira and the priest Manuel de Lira (see these names). Some genealogists claim that it originates from Teresa de Lira, wife of D. Afonso de Aragão in the late 15th century, and their son, named Lopo Dias, adopted that surname, which has since been maintained on the island.