Pereira is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

in the Portuguese and Galician languages, well known and quite common, mostly in Portugal, the

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

region of Spain, Brazil, other regions of the former

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

, among Galician descendants in Spanish-speaking Latin America and by adoption also common among Sephardic Jews of Portuguese origin throughout the Sephardic Jewish diaspora. Currently, it is one of the most common surnames in South America and Europe. It was originally a noble

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

toponym of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, taken from the

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

possession of Pereira, Portugal, which in Portuguese means '

pear tree Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

'. The variants of this name are more commonly found in other countries such as Spain,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, India (specifically between Goa and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

along the

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

coast), Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ''

Pereire Émile Pereire (3 December 1800, Bordeaux - 5 January 1875, Paris) and his brother Isaac Pereire (25 November 1806, Bordeaux – 12 July 1880, Gretz-Armainvilliers) were major figures in the development of France's finance and infrastructure duri ...

'', for example, is a French variant. Many Portuguese immigrants to the United States, especially

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, chose to

Americanize Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tech ...

their surname to Perry. As a

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

ic surname, it does not refer to a single lineage with a single founder, but to various unrelated lineages.

People

Politics

Anália de Victória Pereira Anália Maria Caldeira de Victória Pereira Simeão (3 October 1941 – 7 January 2009) was the leader of the PLD (the ''Partido Liberal Democrático,'' or " Liberal Democratic Party") of Angola and the most visible female politician in the cou ...

(1941–2009), Angolan politician *

Aristides Pereira Aristides Maria Pereira (; 17 November 1923 – 22 September 2011) was a Cape Verdean politician. He was the first President of Cape Verde, serving from 1975 to 1991. Biography Pereira was born in Fundo das Figueiras, on the island of Boa V ...

(1923–2011), Cape Verdean politician *

Carlina Pereira Carlina Fortes Pereira (c. 1926 – 11 December 2011) was a Cape Verdean activist, politician, and prominent figure within the country's independence movement during the Portuguese colonial era. Following independence, she became country's inaugu ...

(c. 1926 – 2011), Cape Verdean politician *

Fernando "Cobo" Pereira Fernando "Cobo" Pereira is a major in the military of São Tomé and Príncipe. Coup He led a coup against the elected government of Fradique de Menezes Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes (born March 21, 1942) is a São Toméan politicia ...

(born 1963), officer of São Tomé and Príncipe * Gabriel Antonio Pereira (1794–1861), Uruguayan politician and President of Uruguay * António Pestana Garcia Pereira (20/21st century), Portuguese lawyer and politician *

Henrique Pereira Rosa Henrique Pereira Rosa (18 January 1946 – 15 May 2013) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 2003 to 2005. He was born in 1946 in Bafatá. Interim President of Guinea-Bissau Rosa served as the in ...

(1946–2013), politician from Guinea-Bissau * Ignatius Xavier Pereira (1888-1951), Indian Tamil-Sri Lankan businessman and politician *

José Maria Pereira Neves José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(born 1960), Cape Verdean politician and Prime Minister of Cape Verde * José Pacheco Pereira (born 1949), Portuguese politician and intellectual *

Tomás Romero Pereira Tomás Romero Pereira (October 4, 1886 – August 12, 1982) was President of Paraguay from May 4, 1954, to August 15, 1954. Associated with the Colorado Party and General Alfredo Stroessner He was a member of the Colorado Party. He came to p ...

(1886–1982), Paraguayan politician and President of Paraguay * Venceslau Brás Pereira Gomes (1868–1966), Brazilian politician and President of Brazil * Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra (1846–1919), Dominican political figure * Julio César Pereyra (born 1951), the mayor of Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina since 2003 * Pereira Silima (born 1959), Tanzanian politician

Music and dance

* Alexander Pereira (born 1947), head of La Scala * Linda Perry (Pereira) (born 1965), American record producer, songwriter, singer *

Erica Pereira This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Devin Albe ...

, New York City Ballet soloist * Steve Perry (Pereira) (born 1949), American singer *

Luciano Pereyra Luciano Ariel Pereyra (born September 21, 1981) is an Argentine singer. Biography In 1984, when he was three years old, his parents noticed his talent for music and gave him a guitar for Christmas. The following year, he competed in a televisi ...

(born 1981), Argentine singer *

Luis Pereyra Luis Pereyra (born 9 July 1965) is a dancer and choreographer of Tango Argentino and Argentinian folk dances. Life Luis Pereyra was born to a humble working-class family, in the province of Santiago del Estero. At the age of five he danced in ...

(born 1965), dancer and choreographer of Tango Argentino and Argentinian folklore * Joe Perry (Pereira) (born 1950), American rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter * David Pereira (born 1953), Australian classical cellist * Poppy (Moriah Rose Pereira) (born 1995), American singer and YouTube personality *

Linn da Quebrada Linn da Quebrada (Double entendre in Portuguese, in English: ''Linn from the Hood'' or "Broken Beauty") is the stage name of Lina Pereira dos Santos, a Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter, and television personality. Life Lina Pereira w ...

(Lina Pereira), Brazilian singer, actor, and screenwriter *

Tina Pereira Tina Pereira (born ) is a Trinidadian-Canadian ballet dancer and designer. She joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2001, then the Dutch National Ballet in 2004. She returned to the Canadian company in 2006, and was promoted to principal dance ...

, Trinidadian-Canadian ballet dancer

Sports

Adrian Pereira Adrian Nilsen Pereira (born 31 August 1999) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Norwegian club Rosenborg. He is a son of former Viking FK player Thomas Pereira. The Pereira name comes from Adrian Pereira's great ...

(born 1999), Norwegian footballer *

Alex Pereira Alexsandro Pereira (born 7 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Middleweig ...

(born 1987), Brazilian kickboxer *

Aloysius Pereira Aloysius Stanislaus Pereira (30 December 1859 – 11 November 1935) was an Indian-born, English-educated tea-planter and a cricketer who played in a single first-class cricket match for Cambridge University in 1880. He was born in Kolkata, then ...

(1859–1935), Anglo-Indian cricketer * Álvaro Pereira (born 1985), Uruguayan football player * Andreas Pereira (born 1996), Brazilian footballer *

Bob Pereyra Bob Pereyra (born January 8, 1963 in Santa Monica, California) is the pioneer of the extreme sport of street luge and is one of the fastest street luge racers in the world. He is one of the most recognized street luge racers worldwide. He was the ...

(born 1963), American street luge racer * Carlos Pereyra (born 1911), Argentine boxer * Daniel Pereira (born 1976), Argentine-Uruguayan footballer * Danilo Pereira (born 1991), Portuguese footballer * Darío Pereyra (born 1956), Uruguayan football player *

Derrick Pereira Derrick Pereira (born 17 March 1962) is an Indian association football manager and former player, who managed then I-League 2nd Division club FC Goa Reserves and the India national under-23 football team. He is also the technical director of I ...

(born 1962), Indian football player * Edward Pereira (1866–1939), English cricketer and educationalist * Gabriel Pereyra (born 1978), Argentine footballer playing in Mexico * Guillermo Pereyra (born 1980), Argentine-Italian footballer * Jackie Pereira (born 1964), Australian field hockey striker * Jair Pereira (born 1986), Mexican football player * James Pereira (born 1983), Brazilian boxer *

João José Pereira João José Sales Henriques de Carvalho Pereira (born 28 December 1987) is a Portuguese triathlete who represents S.L. Benfica, Benfica, at club level, and the Portuguese national team. Career On 14 June 2015 he finished 8th at the Triathl ...

(born 1987), Portuguese triathlete * Juan Pablo Pereyra (born 1984), Argentine footballer * María del Pilar Pereyra (born 1978), Argentine swimmer * Matheus Pereira (born 1996), Brazilian footballer * Maxi Pereira, Uruguayan football player *

Mike Pereira Mike Pereira (born April 13, 1950) is a former American football official and later Vice President of Officiating for the National Football League (NFL) and currently the Head of Officiating for the United States Football League. Since 2010, he ...

, (NFL) Vice President of Officiating *

Mito Pereira Guillermo "Mito" Pereira Hinke (born 31 March 1995) is a Chilean professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. Amateur career Pereira was runner-up at the 2006 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship (boys 10-11 division), and w ...

(born 1995), Chilean professional golfer * Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro Gomes, Portuguese football player * Nuno Jorge Pereira Silva Valente, Portuguese football player * Ricardo Pereira (born 1976), Portuguese football player * Ricardo Pereira (born 1993), Portuguese football player *

Roberto Pereyra Roberto Maximiliano Pereyra (; born 7 January 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese. A versatile player, he is capable of playing a variety of positions such as left or right wing, centr ...

(born 1991), Argentine footballer *

Sanson Pereira Sanson Pereira (born 2 October 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Goa. Club career Born in Nuvem, Goa, Pereira began his career with the Salgaocar youth teams after impressing in ...

(born 1997), Indian footballer * T. J. Pereira (born 1976), Brazilian jockey *

Teliana Pereira Teliana Santos Pereira (born 20 July 1988) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. On 19 April 2015, she became the first Brazilian in 27 years to win a title on the WTA Tour, beating Yaroslava Shvedova in Bogotá 7–6, 6–1. She ...

(born 1988), Brazilian tennis player *

Thiago Pereira Thiago Machado Vilela Pereira (born 26 January 1986) is a retired Brazilian international competition swimmer. One of the greatest swimmers in the history of Brazil, Pereira won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2012 S ...

(born 1986), Brazilian swimmer *

Thisara Perera Narangoda Liyanaarachchige Thisara Chirantha Perera ( si, තිසර පෙරේරා; born 3 April 1989), popularly as Thisara Perera, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer who played all formats for the national team. He also cap ...

(born 1989), Sri Lankan cricketer *

Thomas Pereira Thomas Pereira or Tomás Pereira (1 November 1645 – 1708), also known as Tomé Pereira, was a Portuguese Jesuit, mathematician and scientist who worked as a missionary in Qing China. Pereira was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão. He arrived i ...

(born 1973), Norwegian footballer * Vítor Melo Pereira (born 1957), Portuguese football referee *

Viviane Pereira Viviane "Sucuri' Pereira (born August 8, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and competes in strawweight division. She last competed for Invicta Fighting Championships. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also foug ...

(born 1993), Brazilian mixed martial artist

Others

* Baron Diego Pereira D' Aguilar, 1st Baron d'Aguilar (1699–1759), Jewish financier * Baron Ephraim Lopes Pereira D'Aguilar, 2nd Baron d'Aguilar (1739–1802) Jewish financier *

Audrey Brown-Pereira Audrey Teuki Teupuariki Tuioti Brown-Pereira (born 1975) is a Cook Islands diplomat, public servant, and poet, of Cook Islands, Maori and Samoan descent. Biography Brown-Pereira was born on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and grew up in Papatoet ...

, Cook Islands diplomat * Benedict Pereira, Spanish Jesuit priest * Brendan Pereira, Indian advertising executive * Cecil Pereira (1869–1942), British Army officer, commanded 2nd Division during World War I * Duarte Pacheco Pereira, Portuguese explorer * E. O. Eustace Pereira, Sri Lankan Burgher engineer and academic, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon * Fernando Pereira, Dutch photographer *

Florent Pereira Florent C. Pereira (1952 – 14 September 2020) was an Indian journalist and actor who appeared in Tamil language films as a supporting actor. Career Pereira completed a post-graduate degree in English literature from Annamalai University in 19 ...

(1952-2020), Indian journalist and film actor * Francisco de Assis Pereira, Brazilian serial killer * Galeote Pereira, 16th-century Portuguese soldier, trader and travel writer (China) * George Pereira, British explorer of Central Asia, diplomat, general and author * Hal Pereira (1905–1983), American production designer and architect *

Henry Pereira Henry Horace Pereira (16 January 18451 January 1926) was an Anglican suffragan bishop during the first quarter of the 20th century. Pereira was born in 1845, educated at Trinity College, Dublin and ordained in 1869. He served two curacies before ...

(1845–1926), Anglican Suffragan bishop * Henry Pereira Mendes (1852–1937), American rabbi * Irene Rice Pereira (1902–1971), American abstract artist, writer, painter *

Jacob Rodrigues Pereira Jacob Rodrigues Pereira or Jacob Rodrigue Péreire (April 11, 1715 – September 15, 1780) was an academic and the first teacher of deaf-mutes in France. Jacob Rodrigues Pereira was born in Berlanga (Badajoz), Spain, a descendant of a Por ...

(1715–1780), one of the inventors of manual language for the deaf * João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira (1931–2019), Brazilian musician * Jonathan Pereira (1804–1853), British pharmacologist * Julia Pereira, Brazilian model * Kevin Pereira (born 1982), American TV host * Marco Pereira (born 1950), Brazilian musician * Michaela Pereira (born 1970), Canadian television personality * Nuno Álvares Pereira (1360–1431), canonized Portuguese medieval general * Sam Pereira (born 1950), American poet *

Simeon Anthony Pereira Simeon Anthony Pereira (19 October 1927, Sukkur, British India - 22 August 2006, Karachi) was a former archbishop of Karachi. Life Pereira was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi. He received his religious training at the Papal Semina ...

(1927–2006), Pakistani Catholic priest, 3rd Archbishop of Karachi *

Soeiro Pereira Gomes Joaquim Soeiro Pereira Gomes (14 April 1909 – 5 December 1949) was a Portugal, Portuguese writer of Literary realism, realist influence and became one of the major names of Portuguese literature of the 20th century. Pereira Gomes is, along ...

(1901–1949), Portuguese writer * Steve Pereira (20th century), British born editor, poet and writer * William Pereira (1909–1985), American architect *

Abraham Israel Pereyra Abraham Pereyra (Abraham Israel Pereyra, also Pereira) was a wealthy and prominent Portuguese Jewish merchant, who lived in Amsterdam from ''circa'' 1644 to his death in 1699. Life and Work Cecil Roth, following Kayserling, says Abraham Pereyra ...

(died 1699), "Portuguese merchant of the Jewish nation" who lived in Amsterdam * Virginia Pereira Álvarez (1882–1947), first Venezuelan woman to study medicine in Venezuela

References