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

Moreyra, 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 Moreyra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moreyra in America

Moreyra is the 80678th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moreyra surname appeared 235 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 Moreyra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moreyra 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 Moreyra

The surname Moreyra has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "moreira," which refers to a blackberry bush or bramble patch. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to identify someone who lived near or worked with blackberry bushes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moreyra can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a medieval hunting treatise written in the 14th century during the reign of King Alfonso XI of Castile. The book mentions several individuals with the surname, indicating its presence in various regions of Spain at the time.

In the 16th century, the Moreyra family is documented as having been prominent landowners in the region of Extremadura, Spain. Historical records show that they held estates and properties in the towns of Cáceres and Trujillo.

Notable individuals with the surname Moreyra include Diego de Moreyra, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru in the 16th century alongside Francisco Pizarro. Another prominent figure was Pedro de Moreyra, a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in modern-day Bolivia during the early 17th century.

In Portugal, the surname Moreyra can be traced back to the 15th century, with records indicating that members of the family held positions of nobility and served in the royal court. One such individual was João de Moreyra, a Portuguese nobleman and courtier who lived during the reign of King Manuel I in the early 16th century.

The surname Moreyra has also been present in Brazil since the colonial era, as many Portuguese settlers with this name established themselves in the country. One notable example is João Batista de Moreyra, a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Constituent Assembly in the late 18th century.

Throughout history, the Moreyra surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Moreira, Moraira, and Moreyras, reflecting the regional dialects and language evolutions across different regions where the name was present.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moreyra

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

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

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

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