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

Pereyra, 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 Pereyra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pereyra in America

Pereyra is the 8496th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pereyra surname appeared 3,877 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 Pereyra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pereyra 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 Pereyra

The surname Pereyra is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Spanish word "pera," meaning "pear," and may have been an occupational name for someone who cultivated or sold pears. Alternatively, it could have derived from a place name referring to a location where pear trees were abundant.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Pereyra can be found in various historical documents from Spain and Portugal, such as birth records, land deeds, and legal proceedings. One notable example is the mention of a certain Sancho Pereyra in a 13th-century manuscript from the Aragonese region of Spain.

In the 14th century, the Pereyra name appeared in the Portuguese town of Coimbra, where several members of the family held influential positions. One significant figure was João Pereyra, a nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta in 1415.

During the Age of Exploration, the Pereyra surname spread to the Americas and other Portuguese and Spanish colonies. In the 16th century, a Portuguese explorer named Gaspar Pereyra is recorded to have participated in the colonization efforts in Brazil.

Another notable individual bearing the Pereyra surname was Juan Pereyra, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. He is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure named Francisco Pereyra served as the Governor of Buenos Aires, a Spanish colony in present-day Argentina, from 1727 to 1732.

Over the centuries, the Pereyra name has been associated with various distinguished individuals across different fields, including politics, literature, and the arts. For example, María Pereyra was a renowned Spanish poet and writer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

While variations in spelling, such as Pereира, Pereуra, and Pereírа, can be found in historical records, the surname Pereyra has maintained its strong presence and significance throughout its rich history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pereyra

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

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

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

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