Find out how popular the last name Aires is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Aires.
A toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near a barn or derived from Ayer, meaning an ancestor's name.
Aires, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Aires surname is from the 2010 census data.
Aires is the 78316th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Aires surname appeared 244 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Aires.
We can also compare 2010 data for Aires to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 78316 | 70906 | 9.93% |
| Count | 244 | 257 | -5.19% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.08 | 0.10 | -22.22% |
The surname Aires is believed to have originated in Portugal and Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Portuguese word "aires," meaning "airs" or "winds," and may have been an occupational name for someone who worked with the winds or as a sailor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Aires surname can be found in the Livro de Linhagens (Book of Lineages), a Portuguese manuscript from the 13th century that documented noble families. It mentions the Aires family as being of noble lineage in the region of Entre Douro e Minho in northern Portugal.
In the 14th century, there are records of an Aires Fernandes who served as a magistrate in the city of Guimarães, Portugal. Similarly, in the 15th century, a nobleman named Aires da Silva was a prominent figure in the court of King João II of Portugal.
The Aires surname also has links to Spain, particularly in the region of Galicia, which shares a border with northern Portugal. One notable bearer of the name was Pedro Aires, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage around the world in the early 16th century.
Another historical figure with the Aires surname was João Aires de Almeida, a Portuguese Jesuit priest and missionary who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was instrumental in establishing Jesuit missions in Brazil and is known for his work among the indigenous populations.
In the 17th century, there was a Portuguese poet and playwright named Tomé Aires de Mendonça, who was highly regarded for his works in the Baroque style. He was born in 1585 and died in 1665.
It's worth noting that the Aires surname has also been recorded in various spellings throughout history, such as Ayres, Ayrez, and Aires, reflecting the linguistic variations and regional differences in pronunciation and spelling.
While the Aires surname has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, it has since spread to other parts of the world, carried by Portuguese and Spanish emigrants and settlers. However, its historical origins and connections to the winds and maritime life in Portugal and Spain remain a fascinating part of its etymology.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Aires.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Aires was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 74.18% | 181 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 9.02% | 22 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.46% | 6 |
| Hispanic Origin | 12.70% | 31 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Aires has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 74.18% | 74.71% | -0.71% |
| Black | 9.02% | 9.73% | -7.57% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 2.46% | 2.33% | 5.43% |
| Hispanic | 12.70% | 12.45% | 1.99% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Aires was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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