Silveira
A Portuguese surname originally linked to a place with woods or brush, from the word for wild woodland growth.
The #5,545 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,265 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Silveira is a Portuguese surname formed from silva, a Latin word meaning “wood,” “forest,” or “thicket.” In Portuguese, silveira can refer to a place overgrown with brambles or brush, so the surname likely began as a locational name for someone who lived near such ground or came from a place so called. The name is therefore tied to landscape rather than to a personal occupation or nickname.
History
The surname is especially associated with Portugal and later spread widely through the Portuguese-speaking world, including Brazil and parts of the Atlantic diaspora. It appears in many families as a hereditary name rather than a descriptive label still tied to one exact locality. In some cases it may also reflect topographic place-names in Portugal.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Silveira shares its root with silva, the same Latin word behind many botanical and place names across Romance languages.