Bettencourt is surname and noble family of Norman origin. The head of the family in the 14th century, Jean de Béthencourt, organized an expedition to conquer the Canary Islands, resulting in his being made King of the Canary Islands. Though the royal Canary title would be short lived, it allowed the family to firmly establish itself afterwards in the Azores and Madeira islands. The family is one of the most expansive and established families of the Portuguese nobility.
Through the expansion of the Portuguese Empire and Spanish Crown, the family and name spread across the world, mainly throughout Spanish America, Portuguese America, and Portuguese Africa.
Though the spelling Bettencourt is the most widely used and standardized spelling of the family, both in Portuguese and French, other spellings of the name have arisen, mainly in Spanish. Some of these spellings include: Bettencour, Bethancourt/Betancourt, Béthencourt, Bitencourt/Bittencourt, Betancur, Betancurt, Betancurth, Betancor, Bitancurt, Betancurt, and Betencur
Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population. It translated the Old Low Franconian word *hof "courtyard", "courtyard of a farm", "farm" (Dutch, Old English hof, German Hof)
Bettencourt / Bethencourt corresponds with Bettenhoffen, Bettenhof or Bettenhoven found in Alsace, Germany or Flanders.
The first part Betten- is the Germanic personal name (owner's name) Betto.
The surname Bettencourt / Bethencourt with various spellings extended throughout Spain, Portugal and their colonies, after the Norman-French explorer Jean de Béthencourt, who conquered the Canary Islands for Spain and received the title King of the Canary Islands.
To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among Canary Islanders and people of Canary Islander descent, in spite of his death without issue, thanks to his nephew Maciot de Béthencourt who succeeded him as King of the islands.
Examples include former Colombian president Belisario Betancur, former Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt, and Hermano Pedro de San José de Betancurt, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Other modern notables in recent news are Venezuelan baseball player Rafael Betancourt, Azorean (Portuguese) born American musician Nuno Bettencourt, Colombian-French activist/politician Ingrid Betancourt.
Liliane Bettencourt – French businesswoman, majority shareholder of L'Oréal, currently richest woman in historyAndré Bettencourt – French politician, served as Foreign Minister under President Georges PompidouTiago Bettencourt – Portuguese singer and songwriterJoão de Bettencourt de Vasconcelos - Portuguese nobleman and governorDiogo de Barcelos Machado Bettencourt - Portuguese magistrate and politicianNuno Bettencourt – Portuguese-American guitarist and songwriterPaul Bettencourt – American politician, currently Texas Senator from the 7th districtAgustín de Betancourt (1758–1825) – prominent Spanish structural engineer, educator, and urban plannerAlfredo Betancourt (1914–2013), Salvadoran writerAntonio Esparragoza Betancourt, Venezuelan boxerCarlos Betancourt – American artistCarmelo Betancourt (born 1993), Puerto Rican basketball playerChristian Rogelio Benítez Betancourt – Ecuadorian footballer.Danny Betancourt – Cuban baseball playerFrancisco Demetrio Sánchez Betancourt – Venezuelan swimmer.Gabriel Betancourt – Colombian politician and father of Íngrid BetancourtÍngrid Betancourt – French-Colombian politicianJeanne Betancourt – American authorJohn Gregory Betancourt – science fiction writerJorge Betancourt – Cuban diverJusto Betancourt – Cuban singerKim Betancourt – American publisherLázaro Betancourt – Cuban triple jumperManuel Arteaga y Betancourt – Archbishop of HavanaMaría Cristina Betancourt – Cuban discus throwerMichael Betancourt – critical theorist, art and film historian, and animatorMick Betancourt – writerMiguel Betancourt – Ecuadorian artistNelson Betancourt – West Indian cricketer.Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary.Philip Betancourt – American ArchaeologistPorfirio Armando Betancourt – Honduran soccer playerRafael Betancourt – Major League Baseball pitcher for the Colorado RockiesRómulo Betancourt – President of Venezuela (1945–1948 and 1959–1964)Yuniesky Betancourt – Cuban professional baseball playerJoe Bethancourt – American musicianMat Bethancourt – American musicianChristian Bethancourt - Panamanian athleteAmaro Soares Bittencourt, Brazilian Major General, diplomat, military and civil engineer, and the first recipient of the United States Legion of Merit (October 1942)Danny Bittencourt Morais (born 1985), Brazilian central defenderFranklin Bittencourt (born 1969), Brazilian football coach and a former playerJacob Pick Bittencourt – Brazilian composer and musicianLeonardo Bittencourt (born 1993), German football playerMárcio Bittencourt (born 1964), retired Brazilian professional footballerRafael Bittencourt (born 1971), Brazilian guitarist, composer and co-founder of the band AngraRafael de Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro (born 1982), Brazilian goalkeeperRodrigo Oliveira de Bittencourt (born 1983), Brazilian defensive midfielderSimone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer and a major performer of MPBCarlos Betancur – Colombian cyclistRubén Bentancourt, Uruguayan footballerBetancourt v. Trinitas – U.S. medical ethics caseBetancuria, municipality in the Canary Islands, Spain.Bettencourt-Rivière, a French commune located in the Somme department.Bettencourt-Saint-Ouen, a French commune located in the Somme department.
