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Madeira has a very good web site with information on families dating back to the 1400's. The web address is http://www.arquivo-madeira.org/item1.php?lang=1&id_channel=40&id_page=285
You must be very careful when looking up ancestors using the last name. My great Grandfather, Antonio de Freitas was actually Antonio de Freitas da Silva. Name changing was very common in Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
In Portugal, there are some common surnames which had a patronymic genesis, but are no longer used in such way. In the same way the surname Soares means son of Soeiro (in Latin Suarius). It comes from Latin Suarici (son of Suarius); the Latin genitive suffix -icius/a was used to indicate a patronymic. After it became Suariz, Suarez and eventually Soares.
Name changes were very common in Madeira as well as Portugal and the Azores. People were given a Christian name (first name) in Baptism. When they grew up, they were to choose a FAMILY name as their first official act (very often at their marriage, or when they bought/sold some property, etc.).
They could pick any surname from any of their family names. If they were mad at their father or brothers, they might pick a different surname from theirs. This is way you may see brothers with different last names or sons and daughters with different last names then their parents.
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