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

Ferreiras, 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 Ferreiras surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ferreiras in America

Ferreiras is the 52970th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ferreiras surname appeared 391 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 Ferreiras.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ferreiras 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 Ferreiras

The surname Ferreiras is of Portuguese origin, and it dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "ferreiro," which means "blacksmith" or "ironworker." The name likely originated in the northern regions of Portugal, where the iron industry was prevalent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ferreiras surname can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens (Old Book of Lineages), a 14th-century Portuguese manuscript that documents the genealogies of noble families. This suggests that the Ferreiras family had achieved some level of prominence by that time.

In the 15th century, during the Age of Discovery, several individuals with the surname Ferreiras took part in the Portuguese explorations and conquests. One notable figure was João Ferreiras, a navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498.

The Ferreiras surname is also associated with several place names in Portugal, such as Ferreiras (a parish in the municipality of Albufeira) and Ferreiras de Aves (a parish in the municipality of Sátão). These place names likely originated from the presence of blacksmiths or ironworkers in those areas.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the Ferreiras surname, including:

1. Gonçalo Ferreiras (c. 1360 - c. 1420), a Portuguese poet and chronicler during the reign of King John I.
2. Duarte Ferreiras (c. 1510 - c. 1580), a Portuguese explorer who accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral on his voyage to Brazil in 1500.
3. Manuel Ferreiras (c. 1570 - c. 1640), a Portuguese architect known for his work on the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon.
4. Tomás Ferreiras (c. 1620 - c. 1680), a Portuguese painter renowned for his religious artworks.
5. João Ferreiras de Almeida (1628 - 1691), a Portuguese mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.

While the Ferreiras surname has its roots in Portugal, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly to former Portuguese colonies and territories, as a result of migration and exploration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ferreiras

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

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

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

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