Pinto

Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India (especially in Mangalore, Karnataka), France and Israel. Historically, it has been common among political elites in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, as numerous presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state have shared the surname.

In many languages, Pinto means "coloured" or "painted" as it derives from the Late Latin pinctus and Classical Latin pictus, and in some cases, at least from the same word in the sense "lively or restless person". It is linguistically related to the name of Columbus' ship  La Pinta, meaning "The Painted One", "The Look", or "The Spotted One". Also related, though greatly diverging in meaning, is the unit of measurement pint, which comes from the Old French word pinte and perhaps ultimately from Vulgar Latin pincta meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity.

Politicians

 * Alcino Pinto (1950s–2020), Sao Toméano politiciano
 * Aníbal Pinto (1825–1884), President of Chile from 1876 to 1881
 * António Pinto Soares (1780–1865), Head of State of Costa Rica in 1842
 * Carlos Mota Pinto (1936–1985), Portuguese politician
 * Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne (1918–1984), Sri Lankan Sinhala military officer and politician
 * Elsa Teixeira Pinto, São Toméan politician
 * Francisco Antonio Pinto (1785–1858), President of Chile from 1827 to 1829
 * Francisco Pinto Balsemão (born 1937), Prime Minister of Portugal from 1981 to 1983
 * Germán Serrano Pinto (1940–2016), Vice President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994
 * Ignacio Pinto (1723-1797), head of the Pinto family that revolted against the Portuguese colonialists in Portuguese India
 * João Franco (1855–1929), Prime Minister of Portugal from 1906 to 1908
 * John Pinto (1924–2019), Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Jorge Pinto (born 1987), Portuguese politician
 * Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa (born 1937), President of Portuguese sports club F.C. Porto since 1982
 * José Antonio Pinto Castro (1817–1887), Costa Rican Vice President, politician, and judge
 * José Concepción Pinto Castro (1829–1898), Costa Rican judge and politician
 * José de Magalhães Pinto (1909–1996), Brazilian governor who successfully led a military coup d'etat of the Brazilian government in 1964
 * José María Orellana Pinto (1872–1926), President of Guatemala from 1921 to 1926
 * José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (born 1957), Prime Minister of Portugal from 2005 to 2011
 * Lakshman Pinto Jayatilaka Senewiratne (born 1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala Member of Parliament
 * Manuel Guillermo Pinto (1783–1853), Argentinian general
 * Manuel Pinto da Costa (born 1937), economist and President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991 and 2011 to 2016
 * Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (1681–1773), Portuguese nobleman and Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John and sovereign over Malta
 * Mário Pinto de Andrade (1928–1990), Angolan politician and poet
 * Manuel Pinto (Scouting) (1938–2008), Ugandan parliamentarian and Chief Scout
 * Pio Gama Pinto (1927–1965), Kenyan politician
 * Sérgio Sousa Pinto (born 1972), Portuguese politician and Member of the European Parliament
 * Shirly Pinto (born 1989), Israeli deaf activist and politician

Sports players

 * Antoine Pinto, (born 1991), French Muay Thai kickboxer
 * António Pinto (athlete) (born 1966), Portuguese long-distance runner
 * Dirceu José Pinto (1980–2020), Brazilian Paralympic boccia player
 * João Domingos Pinto (born 1961), Portuguese footballer and manager of FC Porto
 * João Vieira Pinto (born 1971), Portuguese footballer
 * José Manuel Pinto (born 1975), Spanish footballer
 * Keivi Pinto (born 1979), Venezuelan judoka
 * Raffaele Pinto (1945–2020), Italian racing driver
 * René Pinto (baseball) (born 1996), Venezuelan baseball player
 * Renyel Pinto (born 1982), baseball pitcher
 * Ricardo Pinto (baseball) (born 1994), Venezuelan baseball player
 * Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1965), Brazilian footballer
 * Ricardo Pinto (footballer, born 1993), Portuguese footballer
 * Ricardo Sá Pinto (born 1972), former Portuguese international footballer and present coach
 * Roberto Pinto (Brazilian footballer), Roberto da Rosa Pinto (1937–1994), Brazilian footballer
 * Shane Pinto, (born 2000), American ice hockey player

Religious leaders

 * Chaim Pinto (1748–1845), leading rabbi in Morocco
 * Evarist Pinto (born 1933), Pakistani Catholic priest, 4th Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan
 * Isaac de Pinto (1717–1787), Jewish philosophe and scholar who was a key investor in the Dutch East India Company
 * Josiah ben Joseph Pinto (1565–1648), Syrian rabbi and author
 * Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (born 1973), Israeli Jewish spiritual leader and Kabbalist
 * Zinia Pinto (1929-2013), Pakistani Catholic nun and teacher

Explorers

 * Alexandre de Serpa Pinto (aka Serpa Pinto; 1846–1900), Portuguese explorer of southern Africa and colonial administrator
 * Fernão Mendes Pinto (c. 1509–1583), Portuguese explorer and writer

Writers

 * Ricardo Pinto (novelist) (born 1961), UK-based fantasy writer
 * Sara Pinto Coelho (1913–1990), Portuguese writer of fiction and plays
 * Silvia Corzo (born 1973), Colombian lawyer, journalist and newscaster
 * Vivian de Sola Pinto (1895–1969), British poet, literary critic and historian

Academics

 * Aníbal Pinto Santa Cruz (1919–1996), Chilean economist
 * Diana Pinto (historian) (born 1949), intellectual historian on Jewish identity
 * Jorge Pinto Rodríguez (born 1944), Chilean historian

Other

 * Freida Pinto (born 1984), Indian model and actress
 * Dan Pinto (born 1960), American composer, keyboardist and drummer-percussionist
 * Filipe Pinto (born 1988), Portuguese singer and winner of 2009/2010 Ídolos
 * George Pinto (composer) (1785–1806), English composer and keyboard virtuoso
 * Joaquim Pinto (born 1957), Portuguese film director
 * Malucha Pinto (born 1955), Chilean actress and dramatist
 * Maria Pinto (fashion designer) (born 1957), American fashion designer
 * Oreste Pinto (1889-1961) Dutch counterintelligence officer
 * Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. (born 1969), Brazilian bassist of the heavy metal band Sepultura
 * Sam Pinto (born 1989), Filipina model and actress
 * Thomas Pinto (1728–1773), British violinist

People with the given name or nickname

 * Pinto Colvig (1892–1967), United States actor, cartoonist, and circus performer
 * Pinto Itamaraty (born 1960), Brazilian politician
 * Pinto Machado (1926–2009), Portuguese footballer