Find out how popular the last name Cordeiro is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cordeiro.

Cordeiro, 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 Cordeiro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cordeiro in America

Cordeiro is the 8016th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cordeiro surname appeared 4,128 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cordeiro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cordeiro 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.

The history of the last name Cordeiro

The surname Cordeiro is of Portuguese origin, derived from the Portuguese word "cordeiro" meaning "lamb". It first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, likely as a nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with lambs or sheep.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cordeiro can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), a medieval Portuguese manuscript dating back to the 14th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname, indicating its presence in Portugal at that time.

The Cordeiro name is particularly associated with the northern regions of Portugal, such as the provinces of Minho and Trás-os-Montes, where sheep farming has been a traditional occupation for centuries. It is possible that the name originated in these areas and then spread to other parts of the country.

In the 15th century, during the Age of Discovery, some Portuguese with the surname Cordeiro likely participated in the exploration and colonization of new territories, carrying the name to various parts of the world, including Brazil, where it became well-established.

One notable figure with the surname Cordeiro was João Cordeiro, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation voyage (1519-1522). Another was Jacinto Cordeiro (1606-1646), a Portuguese Jesuit priest and missionary who worked in Brazil.

In the 18th century, José Cordeiro Lopes (1735-1808) was a prominent Portuguese politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the reign of Queen Maria I. A century later, Manuel Joaquim Cordeiro (1823-1895) was a notable Portuguese writer and journalist.

More recently, António Cordeiro (1919-2000) was a renowned Portuguese painter and illustrator, known for his vibrant depictions of traditional Portuguese life and landscapes. His contemporary, José Alves Cordeiro (1921-1993), was a celebrated Portuguese architect responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Lisbon.

These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Cordeiro who have made notable contributions throughout history, reflecting the long-standing presence and importance of this name within Portuguese culture and society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cordeiro

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cordeiro.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cordeiro was:

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 Cordeiro has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Cordeiro was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cordeiro, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!