PEREIRA
Pereira is a surname of Portuguese origin, deriving from the word pereiro, meaning “pear tree.” It is a toponymic name, historically given to individuals who lived near or owned a pear orchard, and it also has an occupational connotation in those who cultivated or sold pears.
The name is among the most common in Portugal and is widely disseminated across Portuguese‑speaking territories such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and the former colony of Goa in India. It is also found in regions with significant Portuguese immigration, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and parts of France and Belgium. In the United States, the surname ranks 634th in frequency out of 88,799 surnames, with a concentration in states that historically attracted Portuguese communities, such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York. In Canada, it is notably frequent in Ontario, especially in Toronto and Ottawa, while in France it appears in Brittany and Normandy where 19th‑ and 20th‑century Portuguese settlement occurred.
Recorded in more than forty orthographic variants, the name appears as Pear, Peer, Pearman, Pere, Poir, Poirier, Poirot, Poirriez, Dupoirer, Perier, Perrier, Peres, Perie, Pera, La Pira, Delpero, Piras, Perera, Pirner, among others. The earliest surviving record of the name in any form is that of Osbert Pere, a Frenchman noted in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1230.
The ultimate etymological source is the Latin word pirum, meaning “pear.” The Latin evolved into the Romance languages: in French it became pere, and in Medieval English it entered as peer. The surname may also reflect the Latin peregrinum meaning “foreigner” and the personal name Pedro, meaning “rock.” The transition from an occupational or topographical descriptor to a hereditary surname did not occur until roughly the 14th century, a pattern typical of surnames across Europe.
During the expulsions of Jews from Portugal and Spain, many adopted tree or animal names as symbolic Christian surnames; Pereira was among those chosen, resulting in ornamental adoption by some Jewish families. The breadth of its distribution is further attributable to the maritime activities of Portuguese sailors and merchants who established communities in places such as Macau, Malacca and the West Indies during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In sum, Pereira represents a surname with deep roots in the Iberian Peninsula, a rich history of migration, and a diverse array of spelling variants, all of which underscore its enduring presence in Portuguese‑speaking and related communities worldwide.
Typical given names associated with the Pereira surname
Male
- Antonio
- Carlos
- David
- Joao
- John
- Jose
- Luis
- Paulo
- Pedro
- Rui
- Stephen
Female
- Ana
- Carla
- Fatima
- Isabel
- Julie
- Maria
- Marisa
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Paula
- Rui
- Sandra
- Sonia
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Pereira in...
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There are approximately 6,584 people named Pereira in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,440th most common surname in Britain. Around 101 in a million people in Britain are named Pereira.
Origin: Iberian
Region of origin: Europe
Country of origin: Spain
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Spanish
Famous people named Pereira
- Moriah Rose Pereira - American singer, writer, and YouTube personality
- Dion Pereira - Football player
- Cecil Pereira - Army general (1869 to 1942)
- Aloysius Pereira - Anglo-Indian tea-planter and cricketer (1859 to 1935)
- George Pereira - Army general (1865 to 1923)
- William Pereira - Cricketer
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.