Perales
A Spanish surname meaning “pear trees” or “orchard of pear trees,” usually from a place-name.
The #2,467 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,157 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Perales is the plural of Spanish peral, “pear tree,” ultimately from Latin pirus, “pear tree.” As a surname, it likely began as a habitational name for someone from a place called Perales, or from a locality marked by pear trees. The form therefore points to a landscape feature rather than a personal nickname or occupation.
History
Spanish place-names built from trees and plants are common, and Perales fits that pattern well. The surname appears in Spain and later in the Spanish-speaking world, including the Americas, through migration. The 19th-century sources supplied here gloss Perales as a plural form tied to peral and as a place “populated by pear trees.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is a plural form, Perales can be read literally as “the pear trees” or “the pear-tree place.”
From the historical record
“vado por la delicadeza de su fruta. Peraleda. Sitio poblado de perales, Perales. Plural de peral: 0 Peraza. Pera de peral injerto.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos