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Home › Baby Names Directory › Jandaia

Jandaia

♀ Unisex

Pronounced zhahn-DAH-yah

Meaning: parakeet, small parrot

In 30 seconds: Tupi name for the jandaia parakeet — a small brilliantly colored bird of northeastern Brazil — from the Old Tupi yandaya, used as a given name in Tupi oral tradition.
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Origin Tupi
Meaningparakeet, small parrot

History & Origin

Jandaia is a Tupi name taken from the word for the jandaia parakeet, derived from the Old Tupi yandaya. The jandaia (Aratinga jandaya, also called the jenday conure) is a brilliantly colored small parrot native to northeastern Brazil, with a reddish-orange body, yellow head and neck, green wings and tail, and black bill — a vivid bird that would have been a familiar presence in the landscapes the Tupi people inhabited along the Atlantic coast and northeastern interior. Tupi, the language of the coastal Indigenous people encountered by the first Portuguese colonizers, contributed hundreds of words to Brazilian Portuguese, including the names of many birds, animals, and plants. Jandaia is used as a given name in Tupi tradition and has been carried into modern Brazilian given-name usage, where it sits alongside other Tupi nature names like Iracema, Guaraci, and Juriti. The municipality of Jandaia do Sul in Paraná, Brazil preserves the name in its geography.

Did you know? The jandaia's scientific name, Aratinga jandaya, preserves the Tupi word in permanent Linnaean taxonomy — one of many examples where colonial-era naturalists encoded Indigenous Brazilian names for birds directly into science.
Jandaya parakeet — Wikipedia — Documents Aratinga jandaya and the Tupi-origin name preserved in its scientific nomenclatureAratinga — Wikipedia — Notes that Aratinga itself comes from Tupi 'bright parrot' (ará tinga), establishing Tupi naming contextJandaia do Sul — Wisdom Lib — The Brazilian municipality named for the jandaia bird, preserving the Tupi word in place-name geography

Variations

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Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

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If you like Jandaia…

Iracema— Old Tupi name meaning 'lips of honey' — same language and Brazilian Indigenous naming tradition
Juriti— Old Tupi name for a turtledove — another Tupi bird name used as a feminine given name in Brazil
Cauã— Old Tupi name meaning 'hawk' — a bird-of-prey counterpart from the same Tupi tradition
Guaraci— Old Tupi sun name — same language, same rich Brazilian Indigenous heritage

Frequently Asked

What does Jandaia mean?

Jandaia means 'parakeet' in Old Tupi, from yandaya. It names the jandaia parakeet (Aratinga jandaya), a brilliantly colored small parrot native to northeastern Brazil with a reddish-orange body and yellow head.

How do you pronounce Jandaia?

zhahn-DAH-yah — three syllables, with stress on the second, in Brazilian Portuguese.

What is the origin of Jandaia?

Jandaia comes from Old Tupi, the language of the Indigenous coastal people of Brazil. Tupi bird names like jandaia passed into Brazilian Portuguese and are used as given names in Brazil today.

Is Jandaia a boy or girl name?

Jandaia is most often used as a feminine given name in Brazil.

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