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

Pereira, 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 Pereira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pereira in America

Pereira is the 1175th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pereira surname appeared 29,898 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Pereira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pereira 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 Pereira

The surname Pereira is of Portuguese origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It derived from the word "pereira," which translates to "pear tree" in Portuguese, indicating that the name likely originated from someone who lived near a pear orchard or a place known for its abundance of pear trees.

The earliest recorded instances of the Pereira surname can be found in various historical documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. It appears in the Inquirições de D. Afonso III, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties conducted in Portugal during the reign of King Afonso III (1210-1279).

One of the notable historical figures bearing the Pereira surname was Nuno Álvares Pereira (1360-1431), a Portuguese military leader and nobleman who played a pivotal role in the Portuguese struggle for independence from Castile. He was later canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

Another prominent individual with the Pereira surname was Tomé Pires (1468-1540), a Portuguese apothecary and one of the earliest European writers to provide detailed accounts of maritime Southeast Asia. His work, "Suma Oriental," is a valuable source of information on the region's geography, commerce, and culture during the 16th century.

In the literary realm, João Fernandes Pereira (1566-1628) was a Portuguese poet and dramatist known for his contributions to the Portuguese Renaissance literature. His most famous work, "Ulisseia," is an epic poem inspired by Homer's Odyssey.

The Pereira surname also has a notable presence in Spanish history. Fernando Núñez Pereira (1677-1721) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from 1714 to 1717.

Another historical figure with the Pereira surname was José Joaquim Pereira (1787-1838), a Brazilian military leader and politician who played a significant role in the movement for Brazilian independence from Portugal. He served as the first President of the Regency Junta of Brazil in 1822.

While the Pereira surname has its roots in Portugal, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly to former Portuguese colonies and territories, as well as to countries with significant Portuguese immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pereira

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!