Rejinaldo Leonardo Pedro Bolivar de Alencar-Araripe... His name in the article is strange.
A typical Portuguese (and Latin American) name is composed of one or two given names, and two family names. I thought Rejinaldo Leonardo Pedro is supposed to be names but three names?
Seems like Rejinaldo Bolivar de Alencar-Araripe is more in line with today's custom...
As a Spaniard, I can tell you the name is uncommon, but not strange at all. Indeed, it tells quite a bit of the character. In Spain, and I suppose Brazil and South-America, these long names reflect being "highborn" (as far as highborn means in today's society, which is still quite a bit - belonging to the social/economic "elite circles", and therefore having many doors open that normal people have to fight hard for)
That said, analyzing the name:
Given Name: Rejinaldo Leonardo Pedro.
Yes, three names. Why is it?. Well, because of belonging of the "social elite" as said above: First, it sounds appropiately pompous ;P. Second, and most important... social elite comes with a price - you always owe loyalty, respect, or at least some consideration to other peers. You may need to show you enforce you alliegance to them... and one way to do so is by giving a second or third name to your child. So maybe our friend R.L.P.
- Is son of Rejinaldo Othername Othername, and it is family custom to use Rejinaldo as name for the firstborn child.
- However, the mother's family is more important than the father's, therefore to not displease grandpa Leonardo (R.L.P. mother's father), Leonardo comes in as a second name.
-Then, R.O.O. (R.L.P.'s father), is in the military, as a confidence man of commander Pedro Marcos da Silva, and wants his son to follow a similar career... so to ease steps with the commander, why not setting as well Pedro at the end of R.L.P. name... maybe when in the future commander da Sliva has to decide in favour of R.L.P. he will remind by seeing his name there...
You can picture yourself how these things work... of course, can't go for much more than three or four names, but these numbers can be quite right.
Family Name (Father): Bolivar
Quite a plain surname. Strong enough anyway, so even if it could have been embellished by the Father's family story, probably it ends being up simplified again due to the power of this single word (historic reminiscences and so on). It also may mean the father is more a common than the mother (as we will see next)
Family Name (Father): de Alençar-Araripe
Brace yourselves, because maybe this is even shortened from a longer
"da casa do Marques de Alençar-Araripe" (or "
Conde de Alençar-Araripe" itself
). Seems a nobility name, which points again to Rejinaldo being highborn - (
nobility may have not power nowadays, but normally they still have the wealth and the contacts). It is composed as well, maybe by the merger of two different noble houses (Casa de Alençar, and Casa de Araripe): maybe none of both was strong enough to hide the other, so the resulting title merges both names in "
de Alençar-Araripe"
Thus, we have probably a Leader for Brazilia that is high-class. Considering the military bent, he has probably being devoting himself to military career, knowing that economically its life its solved. He may have been granted early Access to officer academy due to contacts, and we know he has been worth of this Access by skills, so therefore he has gained a big opportunity/training advantage ofer any other military officer out there.
It also may speak Brazilia may be democratic or not, but have at least a "elite people" layer that maybe runs much of the government/military/companies...
Compare to Fielding or Daoming, that rise to position, Bolívar was granted the position - however, in his defence, he seems to know how to run it, and may have been getting appropriate training since much earlier.
)
