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

Oliveira, 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 Oliveira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oliveira in America

Oliveira is the 1887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oliveira surname appeared 19,055 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 Oliveira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oliveira 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 Oliveira

The surname Oliveira originated in Portugal and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "oliveira," meaning "olive tree." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone who lived near an olive grove or worked with olives in some capacity.

In the 13th century, the surname Oliveira appeared in various historical records, such as the Inquirições de D. Afonso III, a survey of properties and landholdings conducted during the reign of King Afonso III of Portugal. This suggests that the name was already established by that time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Oliveira was João de Oliveira, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who lived in the 15th century. He was part of the expeditions to the West African coast and is believed to have contributed to the development of Portuguese nautical charts.

Another notable person with the surname Oliveira was Fernão de Oliveira, a 16th-century Portuguese grammarian and humanist. He wrote the first grammar book of the Portuguese language, "Gramática da Linguagem Portuguesa," published in 1536.

In the 17th century, João de Oliveira Chagas was a prominent Portuguese playwright and poet, known for his religious works and plays. He lived from 1631 to 1693.

Moving to the 18th century, José Agostinho de Oliveira Guedes was a Brazilian poet and playwright born in 1718. He is considered one of the pioneers of Brazilian theater and wrote several plays that portrayed colonial life in Brazil.

In the 19th century, José de Oliveira Júnior was a Brazilian painter and art professor. Born in 1839, he is known for his historical and religious paintings, many of which can be found in churches and museums throughout Brazil.

The surname Oliveira has also been associated with various place names in Portugal, such as Oliveira de Azeméis, Oliveira do Bairro, and Oliveira do Hospital, among others. These place names may have influenced the adoption of the surname in certain regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oliveira

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

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

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

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