Pereira
A Portuguese and Galician surname meaning “pear tree,” originally a name taken from a place or property marked by pear trees.
The #1,175 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,327 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pereira comes from Portuguese and Galician, where it denotes a pear tree or a place planted with pear trees. The word ultimately goes back to Latin pirum, “pear,” through a Romance form meaning “pear tree.” As a surname, it was likely first used by people who lived near such a tree or in a place called Pereira.
History
The name is especially associated with Portugal and Galicia, and it spread widely through Iberian and later Portuguese diasporic communities. In historical surname works, it is treated as a Portuguese name and is also found in Spanish-language contexts as Pereira or Pereyra. It became familiar in England through migrants and refugees from the Iberian world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it literally means “pear tree,” Pereira belongs to a large family of European surnames inspired by trees and landscape features.
From the historical record
“PEREGRINE. The personal name. PEREIRA. A Portugueze name natural- ized in London. PERFECT. Apparently refers to cha- racter. PERIGOE. From the city of Perigueux in Guienne. The family came into Eng- land in consequence of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. PERK. PERKS. PERKES. See”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Pereira
- Didi (1928–2001)
- Hugo Almeida (b. 1984)
- Maxi Pereira (b. 1984)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.