<Tr> <Th> Variant (s) </Th> <Td> de Sousa, Souza, de Souza, D'Souza </Td> </Tr> <P> Sousa ((ˈso (w) zɐ)), Souza, de Sousa (literally, from Sousa), or de Souza is a common Portuguese - language surname, especially in Portugal, Brazil, East Timor, India (among Catholics in Goa, Bombay, and Mangalore), and Galicia . In Africa, the name is common among people with Portuguese and Brazilian roots in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, Guinea - Bissau, and Mozambique . </P> <P> The name was originally a toponym, denoting a river in Northern Portugal, from the Latin Saxa, meaning rocks . Sometimes the spelling is in the archaic form Souza or de Souza, which has occasionally been changed to D'Souza . The Spanish equivalent of this surname is Sosa . </P> <P> During the colonial era, the Portuguese built forts along Brazilian and West African coastal areas for trade, many of which were later used for the slave trade . They also had children with local women, and the children were given their fathers' last names . </P>

Where does the name de souza come from