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 Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and Galician languages, well known and quite common, mostly in Portugal, the Galicia 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 A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

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 a ...

, taken from the feudal 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 Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

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 ...

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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, 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 Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

. 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 (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 inaug ...

(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 A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a sta ...

(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 i ...

(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 Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra (November 15, 1846 – May 9, 1919) was a Dominican political figure. He served as the president of the Dominican Republic between 15 November 1899 and 2 May 1902, and again between 5 December 1914 and 7 May 1916. Ji ...

(1846–1919), Dominican political figure *

Julio César Pereyra Julio César Pereyra (born 1951 in Gualeguaychú) is the mayor of Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina (since 2003). He is a member of the Justicialist Party and a strong supporter of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. He is presid ...

(born 1951), the mayor of Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina since 2003 * Pereira Silima (born 1959), Tanzanian politician

Music and dance

Alexander Pereira Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(born 1947), head of La Scala *

Linda Perry Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for ...

(Pereira) (born 1965), American record producer, songwriter, singer * Erica Pereira, New York City Ballet soloist *

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...

(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 televis ...

(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 250px David Pereira (born 21 September 1953) is an Australian classical cellist, considered one of the finest working today. He was Senior Lecturer in Cello at the Canberra School of Music from 1990 to 2008. Later he worked there as a Distingui ...

(born 1953), Australian classical cellist *

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

(Moriah Rose Pereira) (born 1995), American singer and YouTube personality * Linn da Quebrada (Lina Pereira), Brazilian singer, actor, and screenwriter * Tina Pereira, 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 gre ...

(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 Middlewe ...

(born 1987), Brazilian kickboxer * Aloysius Pereira (1859–1935), Anglo-Indian cricketer *

Álvaro Pereira Álvaro Daniel Pereira Barragán (; born 28 November 1985) is a Uruguayan former footballer. After starting out at Miramar Misiones he went on to play for a host of clubs in several countries, mainly Porto and Inter Milan, winning eight major ...

(born 1985), Uruguayan football player *

Andreas Pereira Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira (born 1 January 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Premier League club Fulham. Born in Duffel, Belgium, he began his youth career with nearby club Lommel. At the age of nin ...

(born 1996), Brazilian footballer * Bob Pereyra (born 1963), American street luge racer * Carlos Pereyra (born 1911), Argentine boxer * Daniel Pereira (born 1976), Argentine-Uruguayan footballer *

Danilo Pereira Danilo Luís Hélio Pereira (born 9 September 1991), known as Danilo Pereira (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national team. ...

(born 1991), Portuguese footballer *

Darío Pereyra Alfonso Darío Pereyra Bueno (born 19 October 1956) is a Uruguayan former football player. Having played as a midfielder for Club Nacional de Football in his home country, he reached stardom playing for São Paulo FC as a centre-back along with ...

(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 In ...

(born 1962), Indian football player * Edward Pereira (1866–1939), English cricketer and educationalist *

Gabriel Pereyra Gabriel Ernesto Pereyra Vázquez (born February 28, 1978) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. Pereyra played with River Plate until getting transferred to Cruz Azul in 2005. In the Apertura 2007 season, Pereyra was ...

(born 1978), Argentine footballer playing in Mexico *

Guillermo Pereyra Guillermo Ariel Pereyra (born 20 February 1980) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He spent most of his 13-year professional career with River Plate and Mallorca, winning four major titles with the former ...

(born 1980), Argentine-Italian footballer *

Jackie Pereira Jacqueline ("Jackie") Margaret Pereira, OAM (born 29 October 1964 in Perth, Western Australia) is a former field hockey striker from Australia, who competed for her native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 (Seoul, S ...

(born 1964), Australian field hockey striker * Jair Pereira (born 1986), Mexican football player *

James Pereira James Dean Pereira (born July 17, 1983 in Maranhão) is a boxer from Brazil, who won the bronze medal in the flyweight division (– 51 kg) at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He added another bronze a ...

(born 1983), Brazilian boxer *

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

(born 1987), Portuguese triathlete *

Juan Pablo Pereyra Juan Pablo Pereyra (born 30 May 1984 in San Lorenzo) is an Argentine football midfielder or forward. Career Pereyra made his playing debut in 2006 for El Linqueño in the regionalised 4th division of Argentine football. In 2006, he joined 2nd ...

(born 1984), Argentine footballer *

María del Pilar Pereyra María del Pilar Pereyra (born January 24, 1978) is a retired female butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern hal ...

(born 1978), Argentine swimmer * Matheus Pereira (born 1996), Brazilian footballer *

Maxi Pereira Maxi may refer to: People Given name * Maxi Biancucchi (born 1984), Argentine footballer who plays for Flamengo * Maxi López (born 1984), Argentine footballer who plays in Europe * Maxi Pereira, Uruguayan footballer who plays for SL Benfica ...

, Uruguayan football player * Mike Pereira, (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 ...

(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, central ...

(born 1991), Argentine footballer * Sanson Pereira (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 ...

(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 (born 1973), Norwegian footballer *

Vítor Melo Pereira Vítor Manuel Melo Pereira (born 21 April 1957) is a retired football (soccer) referee from Portugal, best known for supervising four matches at the FIFA World Cup: two in 1998 and 2002. Since August 2017 he was the head of Greek refereeing app ...

(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 fought ...

(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, Cook Islands diplomat *

Benedict Pereira Benedict Pereira (also ''Pereyra'', ''Benet Perera'', ''Benet Pererius'') (March 4, 1536 – 6 March 1610) was a Spanish Jesuit philosopher, theologian, and exegete. Life Pereira was born at Ruzafa, near Valencia, in Spain. He entered the Soci ...

, Spanish Jesuit priest *

Brendan Pereira Brendan Conan Pereira, also known as "BCP", is an Indian advertising executive. Early life and education Brendan Pereira was born on 23 November 1928, to Albert and Louise Pereira. He attended St. Isabel's and St. Mary's High School, both in Maz ...

, Indian advertising executive * Cecil Pereira (1869–1942), British Army officer, commanded 2nd Division during World War I *

Duarte Pacheco Pereira Duarte Pacheco Pereira (; c. 1460 – 1533), called the Portuguese Achilles (''Aquiles Lusitano'') by the poet Camões, was a Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean we ...

, Portuguese explorer * E. O. Eustace Pereira, Sri Lankan Burgher engineer and academic, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon *

Fernando Pereira Fernando Pereira (10 May 1950 – 10 July 1985) was a freelance Portuguese-Dutch photographer, who drowned when French intelligence (DGSE) detonated a bomb and sank the ''Rainbow Warrior'', owned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace on ...

, 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 Francisco de Assis Pereira (born November 29, 1967), also known as "O Maníaco do Parque" ("The Park Maniac"), is a Brazilian serial killer. He was arrested in 1998 for the rape and murder of 11 women and for assaulting nine others in a São Paul ...

, Brazilian serial killer *

Galeote Pereira Galeote Pereira (sometimes also Galiote Pereira) was a 16th-century Portuguese soldier of fortune. He spent several years in China's Fujian and Guangxi province after being captured by the Chinese authorities in an anti-smuggling operation. The rep ...

, 16th-century Portuguese soldier, trader and travel writer (China) *

George Pereira Brigadier General George Edward Pereira, (26 January 1865 – 20 October 1923) was a British Army officer, writer, diplomatist, and explorer in Central Asia, Tibet and Western China. Early life and family George Pereira was descended from an old ...

, British explorer of Central Asia, diplomat, general and author *

Hal Pereira Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect. Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...

(1905–1983), American production designer and architect * Henry Pereira (1845–1926), Anglican Suffragan bishop *

Henry Pereira Mendes Henry Pereira Mendes (, 13 April 1852 – 21 October 1937), was an American rabbi who was born in Birmingham, England and died in New York City. He was also known as Haim Pereira Mendes. Family history and education Henry Pereira Mendes was born ...

(1852–1937), American rabbi * Irene Rice Pereira (1902–1971), American abstract artist, writer, painter * Jacob Rodrigues Pereira (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 Kevin Elder Pereira (born December 28, 1982) is an American television personality and host. Early life While he was 14, Pereira hosted ''Pointless Audio'' under the pseudonym Captain Immy.Stephen A. Johnson (April 15, 2006)AOTS hosts Kevin Pere ...

(born 1982), American TV host * Marco Pereira (born 1950), Brazilian musician *

Michaela Pereira Michaela Pereira (born August 26, 1970) is a Canadian television personality best known as being a former anchor for KTLA in Los Angeles and for the KTTV FOX11 Los Angeles morning show, ''Good Day LA''. She announced on March 28, 2013, that she ...

(born 1970), Canadian television personality *

Nuno Álvares Pereira D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a mystic ...

(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 Semin ...

(1927–2006), Pakistani Catholic priest, 3rd Archbishop of Karachi * Soeiro Pereira Gomes (1901–1949), Portuguese writer * Steve Pereira (20th century), British born editor, poet and writer *

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably pr ...

(1909–1985), American architect * Abraham Israel Pereyra (died 1699), "Portuguese merchant of the Jewish nation" who lived in Amsterdam *

Virginia Pereira Álvarez Virginia Pereira Álvarez (1888-12 April 1947) was the first Venezuelan woman to enroll in the medicine course in Venezuela. Career Pereira Álvarez was born in Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar state, on 1888, and was a normalist teacher that grad ...

(1882–1947), first Venezuelan woman to study medicine in Venezuela

References