Menezes, sometimes Meneses, was originally considered to be a noble and distinguished Portuguese toponymic surname, which originated in Montes Torozos, a region in Tierra de Campos, northeast of Valladolid and southeast of Palencia. The ancestor of the Meneses lineage was Tello Pérez de Meneses. The family wealth and power grew remarkably in the 13th and 14th centuries, through several marriages with the Castilian and Portuguese royal families. Furthermore, one of the important 12 tribes of ancient Israel was called "Menasseh". There are also variant spellings of this name.
Menezes is also a surname used by some members of the christian community in India.
As a surname, Menezes/Meneses may refer to: