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

Pera, 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 Pera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pera in America

Pera is the 11899th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pera surname appeared 2,631 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pera.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pera 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 Pera

The surname Pera has its origins in Italy, where it is believed to have first emerged during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Italian word "pera," meaning "pear," and was likely originally a nickname or descriptive name given to someone who lived near a pear tree or worked with pears.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pera can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of medieval documents from the Lombard kingdom in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. In this text, a person named "Petrus de Pera" is mentioned, suggesting the name was already in use by that time.

The surname Pera also appears in several other historical records from Italy, including the Libro d'Oro, a registry of noble families in Genoa, where the Pera family is listed as early as the 13th century.

Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Pera throughout history is Girolamo Pera (1568-1625), an Italian painter active in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, known for his religious works and portraits.

Another prominent figure was Carlo Pera (1837-1919), an Italian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Italy for a brief period in 1919.

In the realm of literature, the name Pera is associated with Giovanni Pera (1872-1935), an Italian poet and writer who was part of the Crepuscular movement in Italian poetry.

The surname Pera also has a connection to the world of music through the Italian composer and conductor Vincenzo Pera (1880-1957), who was known for his operatic works and served as the director of the Royal Opera House in Rome.

Furthermore, the name Pera has been linked to the ancient city of Pera, now known as Beyoğlu, a district in Istanbul, Turkey. This area was once a colony of the Republic of Genoa, and it is possible that some Italians with the surname Pera may have had ties to this historical settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pera

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

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

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

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