Pereyra
A surname of Spanish and Portuguese use, probably referring to a pear tree or a place marked by pear trees.
The #8,496 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,635 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pereyra is a Romance surname built on the word for a pear tree: Spanish and Portuguese pera/pera- and older forms related to Latin pirum, "pear." In surname use, it likely began as a topographic or locational name for someone who lived by a pear tree, an orchard, or a place called Pereyra/Pereira. The spelling with -y- is a historical or regional variant of the more common Iberian form Pereira.
History
The name is well established in the Iberian world, especially in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking communities, and it traveled widely through migration to the Americas. Historical surname dictionaries commonly treat it as a place-based name connected with pear trees or with the toponym Pereira/Pereyra. The form Pereyra is less common than Pereira but appears in records and among family lines in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Pear-tree surnames are common across Europe; in Iberia, Pereira/Pereyra is one of the best-known examples.
From the historical record
“CADAMOSTO, da ( Jt.), of Family of Mosto. Casa, house, family. CALDAS, Pereyra y Castro, de (S^J.)? ^f Hot-springs, Pear-tree, and Castle. CALHOUN (N. €•)> CoLQUHON (S.)^ Hazel-tree dwelling'^ The lands of Colquhon were granted by Alexander 11. to Umphred de Kilpatrick, whose son was styled Ingelram de Colquhon.”
— Surnames