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

Freyre, 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 Freyre surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Freyre in America

Freyre is the 24934th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Freyre surname appeared 997 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 Freyre.

We can also compare 2010 data for Freyre 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 Freyre

The surname Freyre has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Portugal and Spain, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin word "frater," meaning "brother," and is closely related to the words "fraile" (friar) and "frade" (monk) in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Freyre can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical manuscript dated around the 14th century. This document mentions several individuals bearing the surname Freyre, indicating that the name was already well-established in Portugal during that time period.

The Freyre family played a significant role in the history of Portugal, particularly during the Age of Discovery. One notable member was Gonçalo Velho Cabral Freyre, a 15th-century Portuguese explorer who was part of the expeditions that led to the discovery of the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea.

In Spain, the Freyre surname also has a long and illustrious history. One of the earliest references can be found in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile, which mentions several individuals with the surname Freyre who were involved in royal hunting expeditions.

A prominent figure bearing the Freyre surname was Gilberto Freyre (1900-1987), a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, and historian known for his influential work "Casa-Grande & Senzala" (The Masters and the Slaves), which explored the complexities of Brazilian society and its cultural heritage.

Another notable individual was Juan Freyre de Andrade (1575-1650), a Spanish military leader who served as the Governor of the Netherlands and played a crucial role in the Eighty Years' War against the Dutch Republic.

In the 16th century, the Freyre surname also found its way to the Americas, particularly during the Spanish colonization of the New World. One example is Rodrigo Freyre de Andrade (1540-1607), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and served as the first Governor of the territory.

The Freyre surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Freyre de Andrade, a municipality in the province of León, Spain, and Freyre, a town in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, which was named after the prominent Freyre family of that region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Freyre

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

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

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

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