2000
#6,528
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,793
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.78
Rare Last name
Peres
A Spanish and Portuguese patronymic surname derived from the given name Pedro, meaning "rock" or "stone."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,672 Americans carry the last name Peres. That puts it at #9,678 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,343 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peres 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
3.7K
1 in 93,343
Census rank
#9,678
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,202 bearers of the surname Peres in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9678th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peres, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.1%. The next largest groups are White (29.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Peres
The surname PERES is of Portuguese origin and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is derived from the old Portuguese word "pera," meaning pear, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to a person who cultivated or sold pears. The name was particularly common in the regions of northern Portugal, near the city of Braga.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PERES surname is found in a Portuguese census record from the year 1497, listing a family of that name residing in the town of Guimarães. Around the same time, there is mention of a merchant named Álvaro PERES who traded in pears and other fruits between Portugal and Spain.
In the 16th century, the PERES name appears in several legal documents and property records from the cities of Porto and Lisbon. One notable figure was João PERES, a renowned architect who was responsible for designing several churches and monasteries in Lisbon during the late 1500s.
As Portuguese explorers and settlers began to venture across the globe, the PERES surname spread to various colonies and territories. In the 17th century, there are records of a family named PERES among the early Portuguese settlers in Brazil, who established themselves in the region of Pernambuco.
One of the most famous individuals with the PERES surname was Shimon PERES (1923-2016), an Israeli statesman and politician who served as the ninth President of Israel from 2007 to 2014. Born in Poland, his family had originally adopted the name PERES when they immigrated to what was then British-mandated Palestine in the 1920s.
Other notable figures with the PERES surname include Tomás PERES (1634-1701), a Spanish-born painter who achieved great success in colonial Mexico during the late 17th century, and José PERES (1919-1998), a renowned Portuguese poet and literary critic.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the PERES name continued to appear in various records across Portugal and its former colonies, with families bearing this surname found in regions such as the Azores Islands and Mozambique. Today, the PERES surname remains prevalent in Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as among Jewish communities with roots in Portugal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peres
Among Census respondents with the surname Peres, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.1%. The next largest groups are White (29.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Peres 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 Peres surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino67.1% · 2,149
- White29.0% · 930
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 42
- Black or African American1.2% · 39
- Two or more races0.9% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peres
Peres 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
#6,420
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,294
+501 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Up 108 places
2020
#9,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,202
-2,092 bearers (-39.5%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 3,258 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,528 | 4,793 | 1.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,420 | 5,294 | 1.79 | +501 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 108 places |
| 2020 | #9,678 | 3,202 | 1.07 | -2,092 bearers (-39.5%) | Down 3,258 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 Peres 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 | #6,420 | #9,678 | -50.7% |
| Count | 5,294 | 3,202 | -39.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.07 | -40.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peres bearers went from 5,294 to 3,202 (-39.5% change). The surname moved down 3,258 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,420 to #9,678.
FAQ
Peres surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peres?
Name Census estimates that about 3,672 living Americans carry the surname Peres. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,343 residents.
How common is Peres?
Peres ranks #9,678 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,202 people with the surname Peres. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,672), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Peres.
Has Peres become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peres went from 5,294 recorded bearers to 3,202. That is a decrease of 2,092 (-39.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,420 to #9,678.
What does the Census say about the background of Peres?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peres, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 67.1%. The next largest groups are White (29.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Peres in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.1% (2,149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peres appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (67.1%), White (29.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Peres (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 Peres mean?
A Spanish and Portuguese patronymic surname derived from the given name Pedro, meaning "rock" or "stone." 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 Peres (1.07 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 Peres?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Peres is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.