Ferreyra last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ferreyra

A surname of Spanish origin meaning "maker of iron tools or hardware".

Ferreyra, 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 Ferreyra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ferreyra in America

Ferreyra is the 19986th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ferreyra surname appeared 1,341 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 Ferreyra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ferreyra 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 19986 25591 -24.60%
Count 1,341 906 38.72%
Proportion per 100k 0.45 0.34 27.85%

The history of the last name Ferreyra

The surname Ferreyra is of Spanish origin, traced back to the regions of Castile and Aragon during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin word "ferrarius," which means "blacksmith" or "iron worker." This occupational surname was likely given to families involved in metalworking trades.

The earliest recorded instances of the Ferreyra surname can be found in medieval Spanish documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable example is a certain Pedro Ferreyra, a blacksmith mentioned in a 1245 land registry in the town of Segovia, near Madrid.

In the 14th century, the Ferreyra name appeared in various municipal records across the Iberian Peninsula, indicating the widespread presence of families with this surname. A prominent figure was Juan Ferreyra, a renowned metalworker who crafted ornate iron grilles for cathedrals in Seville and Córdoba between 1375 and 1395.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Atlantic, the Ferreyra surname traveled to the Americas. In the 16th century, conquistadors and settlers bearing this name established themselves in regions like Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. One such individual was Diego Ferreyra, a soldier who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

During the colonial era, the Ferreyra surname gained recognition in various parts of Latin America. In Mexico, José Ferreyra (1733-1815) was a renowned architect who designed numerous churches and public buildings in the Baroque and Neoclassical styles. In Argentina, Juan Ferreyra (1792-1867) was a prominent military leader who fought in the wars of independence against Spain.

Other notable figures with the Ferreyra surname include Gregorio Ferreyra (1783-1844), a Chilean politician and statesman who served as the country's interim president in 1829, and Cecilia Ferreyra (1916-2006), a renowned Argentinian writer and poet whose works explored themes of identity and social justice.

While the Ferreyra surname has its roots in medieval Spain, it has since spread across the globe, carried by generations of families with ties to the metalworking trade and the rich cultural heritage of the Iberian Peninsula.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ferreyra

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

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 Ferreyra was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.44% 73
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.37% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 94.11% 1,262

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 5.44% 8.50% -43.90%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.37% 0.55% -39.13%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.77% (S)%
Hispanic 94.11% 90.07% 4.39%

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

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

"Ferreyra last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ferreyra-surname-popularity/.

"Ferreyra last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ferreyra-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Ferreyra last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ferreyra-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.