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

Lera, 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 Lera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lera in America

Lera is the 56710th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lera surname appeared 360 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 Lera.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lera 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 Lera

The surname LERA is believed to have originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It likely derived from the Spanish word "lera," which means "lode" or "vein" of ore, suggesting that the name may have been associated with mining or metalworking professions. However, some scholars also suggest that it could be a variant of the Spanish surname "Leira," which has its roots in the Galician word "leira," meaning a cultivated field or plot of land.

The earliest recorded instances of the LERA surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Spain, particularly in the northern regions of Galicia and Asturias. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Juan Lera, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Cangas de Onís, Asturias, in the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, the LERA surname appeared in several medieval manuscripts and records, including the "Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla" (Book of Vassalage in Castile), which documented landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. A notable figure from this period was Pedro Lera, a skilled blacksmith who worked in the town of Medinaceli, Soria, in the mid-14th century.

During the 15th century, the LERA surname gained prominence in the region of Extremadura, where several families bearing this name held influential positions. One such individual was Alonso Lera, a respected jurist and legal advisor to the Duke of Arcos in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the LERA surname spread to the Americas as Spanish colonists and settlers established new settlements. One of the earliest known bearers of the LERA surname in the New World was Hernán Lera, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s.

Other notable individuals with the LERA surname throughout history include:

1. Juan Lera y Cano (1757-1820), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic) from 1810 to 1820.

2. Emilio Lera y Rodríguez (1845-1922), a Spanish lawyer, politician, and writer who served as a deputy in the Spanish parliament and authored several legal texts.

3. María Lera de Calderón (1880-1958), a Spanish educator and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education reforms in the early 20th century.

4. Andrés Lera de Isla (1899-1976), a Spanish architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and urban projects in Madrid and other cities in Spain.

5. Enrique Lera Sánchez (1918-2002), a Spanish painter and sculptor known for his abstract and surrealist works, which were exhibited in galleries across Europe and Latin America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lera

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

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

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

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