The variety is named after Afonso de Albuquerque, a distinguished militarian and viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515. Jesuit missionaries introduced grafting on mango trees in Portuguese Goa, to produce varieties like Alphonso. In 1563, Garcia da Orta wrote of Alphonso grown in Portuguese Bombay, which were to be presented to the governor (viceroy) in Goa. Alphonso is also one of the most expensive varieties of mango, and is grown mainly in the Konkan region of western India, and also grown in Valsad and Navsari district of south Gujarat.