 Coat of arms associated with Pereira surname | |
| Pronunciation | [pɨˈɾɐjɾɐ] or [peˈɾejɾɐ] |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Portuguese, Galician |
| Meaning | "pear tree" |
| Region of origin | Portugal, and Galicia region of Spain |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Da Pereira, Dapereira, Pereyra, Pereiras, Pereyras, Perera, Pereire, Peral, Perales and others |
Pereira is a surname in the Portuguese and Galician languages in Portugal, Galicia, Brazil, other regions of the former Portuguese Empire, and among Galician descendants in Spanish-speaking Latin America. The adoption of this surname also became common among Sephardic Jews of Portuguese origin and was historically spread throughout the Sephardic Jewish diaspora as a "New Christian" surname.
Contents
The name originates from Latin pirum or pyrus (pear, pear-tree). Currently, it is one of the most common surnames in South America and Europe. It started as a noble Christian toponym of the Middle Ages, taken from the feudal estate of Pereira, Portugal, which in Portuguese means 'pear tree'.
The variants of this name are more commonly found in other countries like Spain (Galicia) with different spellings such as Pereyra or Perera , Trinidad and Tobago, India (specifically in Goa, Kerala and among the Paravar of Southern Tamil Nadu), Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In France, the variant is Pereire . Many Portuguese immigrants to the United States, especially Massachusetts, chose to Americanize their surname into Perry.
