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

Pesqueira, 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 Pesqueira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pesqueira in America

Pesqueira is the 27411th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pesqueira surname appeared 880 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pesqueira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pesqueira 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 Pesqueira

The surname Pesqueira is of Portuguese origin, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the region of Alentejo, in southern Portugal. The name is derived from the Portuguese word "pesqueira," which means "fishery" or "fishing ground." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with fishing activities or lived near a notable fishing area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pesqueira can be found in the 15th-century manuscript "Livro de Linhagens" (Book of Lineages), which chronicles the noble families of Portugal. This document mentions individuals with the surname Pesqueira, indicating their presence in the region during that time.

The name Pesqueira is also linked to several place names in Portugal, such as the town of Pesqueira in the district of Viseu. It's possible that the surname originated as a locational name, referring to individuals who hailed from or lived near these fishing grounds or locations.

Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the surname Pesqueira. One prominent example is João Rodrigues Pesqueira (c. 1550-1621), a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in expeditions to Brazil and the East Indies in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Another individual of note is Manoel Rodrigues Pesqueira (1635-1696), a Portuguese military engineer and architect who designed several fortifications and buildings in Brazil during the colonial era.

In the 18th century, António José Pesqueira (1710-1788) was a renowned Portuguese lawyer and jurist who served as a judge and held influential positions in the legal system of his time.

Moving to the 19th century, Luís Rodrigues Pesqueira (1825-1892) was a prominent Portuguese politician and diplomat who served as a minister and ambassador for his country.

Finally, in the 20th century, Henrique Pesqueira (1901-1982) was a distinguished Portuguese architect known for his contributions to the modernist architectural movement in Portugal.

These examples illustrate the historical presence and significance of the surname Pesqueira across various fields, from exploration and military engineering to law, politics, and architecture, spanning several centuries of Portuguese history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pesqueira

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

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

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

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