Barrera is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian

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 ...

, meaning " barrier". . The name has many variant spellings of the name which include: Barrios, de Barrios, Barrio, de Barrio, Barro, Barros, de Barros, Barroso, Barrera, de Barrera, de la Barrera, de Barreda, Barral, Barreto, Barrientos, Bareis, Barela, Barreras, Barrere, Barresi, Barreto, Barretta, Barrios, Barris, Barros, Barrientos and Barroso and many more, were first found in the Kingdom of Castile, a

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 ...

kingdom of

medieval Spain Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the History of Spain that began in the 5th Century following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the Early modern period in 1492. The history of Spain is marked by waves ...

History

Surnames 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, ...

derived from place names are divided into two broad categories; Topographic names and

Habitation Habitation may refer to: * Human settlement, a community in which people live * Dwelling In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence or an abode) is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as ...

names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. A notable member of the name was Joao de Barros (1496-1570) the Portuguese historian, born in Visey. He was the governor of Portuguese

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

, and is known for his monumental 'Decades' (1552-1615) the history of the Portuguese in the East Indies. Portuguese surnames share many of the features of Spanish surnames, in particular Arabic and Visigoth influence.

Another such figure is that of

Juan de la Barrera ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

, one of six of the Niños Héroes or (Boy Heroes) of Mexico. Born in (1828-1847) in Mexico City, the son of Ignacio Mario de la Barrera, an army general, and Juana Inzárruaga. He enlisted at the age of 12 and was admitted to the Academy on 18 November 1843. During the attack on Chapultepec he was a Lieutenant in the

military engineers Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics be ...

or sappers, and died defending a gun battery at the entrance to the park. Aged 19, he was the oldest of the six, and was also part of the school faculty as a volunteer teacher in engineering. Another family member was also a government official that has held the title of governor, he was ''Jacinto Barrera'', whom was Governor of Baja California, and was Chief Executive of the North District of the Federal Territory of Baja California in 1911. The family Coat of arms is a red shield with a grey tower centered between two facing, rearing greyhounds. The Barrera family history mentions Isabel Barreto (1567–1612), was a Spanish female sailor and traveler, considered one of the first women to hold the title for office of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in history, who traveled to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

in the 1500s; she later became Governor or Adelantado of the Santa Cruz Islands. Some members of this family name were early

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

to the

were; ''Fernán Barrera'', who sailed to the Americas in 1512, Diego Barrera, sailed to America in 1535, ''Gonzalo de Barrera'', sailed to the Spanish Main in 1538, Juan de la Barrera, sailed to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

in 1555, ''Franco Barrera'' arrived in Pennsylvania in 1774, ''Blas Barrera'' landed in Puerto Rico in 1803, ''Pedro Barrera'' landed in America in 1812, Diego Barrera, arrived in America in 1835, and Juan de la Barrera, whom arrived in New Spain in 1855.

Notable people with the surname

* Antonio Imbert Barrera (born 1920), Dominican politician *

Benjamin Barrera y Reyes Benjamín Barrera y Reyes (December 28, 1902 in Sensuntepeque, Cabañas – February 4, 1999 in Santa Ana) was a bishop from El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República d ...

(1902–1999), Salvadorian bishop * Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera (born 1955), Cuban

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Ernesto Barrera Ernesto Barrera (died 28 November 1978) was a Roman Catholic priest from El Salvador. He served several communities in the department of San Salvador Department, San Salvador, under Archbishop Óscar Romero. Barrera was killed in a shoot-out with t ...

(died 1978), Salvadorian assassinated bishop * Rafael Rodríguez Barrera (born 1937),

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

politician, lawyer, and diplomat * Roberto González Barrera (1930–2012), Mexican businessman *

Abel Barrera Hernández Abel Barrera Hernández is a Mexican anthropologist and human rights activist. In 1994, he founded the Center for Human Rights of the Mountain of Tlachinollan in Guerrero, for which he was awarded by Amnesty International and given the 2010 Robert ...

(1991), Mexican

Anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and human rights

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Sports players

Alejandro Barrera Alejandro Barrera (born September 5, 1986) is a Mexican professional boxer. He previously held the WBC FECOMBOX light middleweight title. Professional career On June 19, 2010 Barrera beat Christian Solano by TKO in the ninth round and won the ...

(born 1988), Mexican boxer *

Dan Barrera ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra'' was the sixth season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', and premiered on September 19, 2007 on Spike TV, after ''UFC Fight N ...

, American mixed martial artist * Elkin Barrera (born 1971),

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n road cyclist *

Jesse Barrera My American Heart is an American rock band from San Diego, California, formed in 2001. Originally named No Way Out, the band released two studio albums through Warcon Enterprises and toured the world before disbanding in late 2009. They reunited ...

(born 1987), American musician * Jorge Barrera (born 1982), Mexican footballer *

Laz Barrera Lazaro Sosa Barrera (May 8, 1924 – April 25, 1991) was a Cuban-born American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Havana, "Laz" Barrera was one of nine brothers who went on to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing in th ...

(1924–1991), American racehorse trainer * Melissa Barrera (born 1985), American radio and television personality * Nelson Barrera (1957–2012, Mexican baseballer * Rodrigo Barrera (born 1970), Chilean footballer *

Jason Barrera Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. H ...

(1997–, Harlem Globetrotter

Sports players and actors

File:The Baby Faced Assassin - Marco Antonio Barrera.jpg , Marco Antonio Barrera, (January 17, 1974), is a Mexican former professional boxer File:Salvatore Di Naro and Stefano Barrera receive a prize.jpg , Stefano Barrera (born 1980), Italian Foil Fencing File:BarreraWHU21082010.jpg , Pablo Barrera, Mexican Football player File:Barera.jpg , Evaristo Barrera (born 1911),

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

football player File:David Barrera.jpg , David Barrera, American actor File:Maria Canals Barrera 2, 2007.jpg, Maria Canals-Barrera American actress

Fictional characters with the name

* Guillermo Barrera or Brutale, DC Comics supervillain

References

{{Reflist Spanish families