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

Ferrer, 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 Ferrer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ferrer in America

Ferrer is the 2123rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ferrer surname appeared 17,057 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Ferrer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ferrer 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 Ferrer

The surname Ferrer is believed to have originated in Catalonia, a region in northeastern Spain. It emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Catalan word "ferrer," which means "blacksmith" or "ironworker." This occupation-based surname was likely given to someone who worked as a blacksmith or was involved in the iron trade.

One of the earliest known references to the Ferrer surname can be found in the "Llibre del Repartiment," a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties in Valencia after the Christian conquest of the region. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Ferrer," "Ferrerio," and "Ferrarius."

In the 14th century, the Ferrer surname was mentioned in the "Llibre Verd" (Green Book), a medieval manuscript that documented the laws and regulations of the city of Valencia. This record suggests that the Ferrer family had already established a presence in the region by that time.

One of the notable individuals with the Ferrer surname was Ramon Ferrer (1350-1419), a renowned Catalan theologian and philosopher. He was a member of the Dominican Order and served as the confessor to King Martin I of Aragon.

Another prominent figure was Vicente Ferrer (1350-1419), a Spanish Dominican friar and preacher. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and is known for his extensive preaching tours throughout Europe, during which he advocated for peace and religious reform.

In the 16th century, the Ferrer surname was associated with several notable figures in the arts and literature. Juan Ferrer de Valdecebro (1520-1557) was a Spanish playwright and poet, while Luis Ferrer de Valdecebro (1560-1625) was a renowned playwright and one of the most significant figures in the Spanish Golden Age theater.

The Ferrer surname also has connections to certain place names. For example, the town of Ferrera in the Pyrenees mountains of Catalonia is believed to have derived its name from the Ferrer family, who may have been among the early settlers in the area.

Other notable individuals with the Ferrer surname include Francisco Ferrer Guardia (1859-1909), a Spanish educator and anarchist who founded the Modern School in Barcelona, and Joaquin Ferrer (1835-1917), a Spanish painter and one of the leading figures of the Catalan Modernist movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ferrer

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

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

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