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

DeFreitas, 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 DeFreitas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of DeFreitas in America

DeFreitas is the 10787th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The DeFreitas surname appeared 2,957 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 DeFreitas.

We can also compare 2010 data for DeFreitas 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 DeFreitas

The surname DEFREITAS originates from Portugal and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "freitas," which means "fringes" or "borders," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a border or boundary.

The earliest recorded mention of the DEFREITAS surname can be found in Portuguese records from the 1400s. Some historians believe that the name may have been associated with Jewish families who fled from Spain during the Inquisition and settled in Portugal, adopting the surname DEFREITAS as a way to assimilate into Portuguese society.

In the 16th century, the DEFREITAS name appeared in several documents related to the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. One notable individual was Pedro de Freitas, a Portuguese explorer who was part of the expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa to establish the first permanent Portuguese settlement in Brazil in 1532.

During the 17th century, the DEFREITAS surname began to spread to other parts of the world as a result of Portuguese exploration and colonization. For instance, João de Freitas was a Portuguese soldier who fought in the Dutch-Portuguese War in Brazil in the 1640s.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure with the DEFREITAS surname was Joaquim José de Freitas, a Portuguese military engineer who played a significant role in the construction of fortifications in various Portuguese colonies, including Brazil and Mozambique.

Another notable individual was Tomás de Freitas, a Portuguese navigator and cartographer who was involved in mapping the coasts of Brazil and West Africa in the late 18th century.

In the 19th century, one of the most famous figures with the DEFREITAS surname was José Joaquim de Freitas, a Portuguese journalist and politician who was instrumental in the establishment of the liberal constitutional monarchy in Portugal.

As the DEFREITAS name spread across the globe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Freitas, DeFreitas, and DeFretas, reflecting the influences of different languages and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name DeFreitas

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of DeFreitas, 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!