2000
#3,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,808
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.27
Uncommon Last name
Perea
A Spanish topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pear tree or a pear orchard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,624 Americans carry the last name Perea. That puts it at #3,201 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,151 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perea surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 27,151
Census rank
#3,201
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,009 bearers of the surname Perea in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3201st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perea, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.4%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perea
The surname Perea has its origins in Spain, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the medieval period. The name is derived from the Spanish word "pera," which means "pear," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a pear orchard or was associated with the cultivation or trade of pears.
One of the earliest references to the Perea name can be found in the Becerro de Behetrías, a medieval census document from the 14th century that recorded landowners and their properties in Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Perea living in various regions of northern Spain, such as Burgos, Palencia, and Valladolid.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Perea name appeared in various historical records and manuscripts across Spain. For instance, Diego de Perea, a Spanish conquistador born around 1480, participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés and later became one of the founders of the city of Puebla de los Ángeles in 1531.
Another notable figure was Fray Antonio de Perea, a Franciscan friar and missionary born in Extremadura, Spain, around 1569. He played a significant role in the evangelization efforts among the Pueblo Native Americans in present-day New Mexico and established several missions in the region during the early 17th century.
The Perea surname also spread to various parts of the Spanish empire, including the Americas. One example is Juan Perea, a Spanish settler born in 1583, who became one of the first European inhabitants of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the early 17th century. His descendants went on to establish the Perea family as a prominent lineage in the region.
In the 18th century, José Perea y Quintanilla, a Spanish military officer and governor of Sonora y Sinaloa, was born in Badajoz, Spain, in 1710. He played a crucial role in the defense of the northwestern territories of New Spain against indigenous uprisings and foreign incursions.
As the Spanish empire expanded, the Perea name could be found in various parts of the world, including the Philippines, where individuals like José Perea Villanueva, a colonial administrator born in 1786, held important positions during the Spanish colonial period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perea
Among Census respondents with the surname Perea, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.4%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Perea bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Perea surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.4% · 9,515
- White9.7% · 1,064
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 230
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 97
- Two or more races0.5% · 59
- Black or African American0.4% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perea
Perea appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,546
+2,738 bearers (+31.1%)
Per 100,000 3.91
Rank movement Up 576 places
2020
#3,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,009
-537 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 3.68
Rank movement Down 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,700 | 8,808 | 3.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,124 | 11,546 | 3.91 | +2,738 bearers (+31.1%) | Up 576 places |
| 2020 | #3,201 | 11,009 | 3.68 | -537 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 77 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Perea surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,124 | #3,201 | -2.5% |
| Count | 11,546 | 11,009 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.91 | 3.68 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perea bearers went from 11,546 to 11,009 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,124 to #3,201.
FAQ
Perea surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perea?
Name Census estimates that about 12,624 living Americans carry the surname Perea. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,151 residents.
How common is Perea?
Perea ranks #3,201 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,009 people with the surname Perea. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,624), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Perea.
Has Perea become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perea went from 11,546 recorded bearers to 11,009. That is a decrease of 537 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,124 to #3,201.
What does the Census say about the background of Perea?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perea, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.4%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Perea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (9,515 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perea appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.4%), White (9.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Perea (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Perea mean?
A Spanish topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pear tree or a pear orchard. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Perea (3.68 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Perea?
You can see how many people are called Perea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.