Pereira (surname)

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For information about other uses of Pereira, see Pereira (disambiguation).
Medieval Pereira Coat of Arms
Medieval Pereira Coat of Arms

Pereira is a common surname in the Portuguese and Galician languages, namely in Portugal, Brazil, and Galicia. It was originally a noble Christian toponym of the Middle Ages.


Contents

[edit] Origin of Pereira

"Abendana (Ibn Dana)" in Arabic script
"Abendana (Ibn Dana)" in Arabic script

Pereira is most often associated with the Portuguese and Portugal. People of this name and its variants from any part of the world most likely have Portuguese origins. If they do not have Portuguese origin then they will have at least some Iberian origin.

Pereira means "pear tree" and is a name believed to be adopted by Sephardic Jews. People of the name Pereira were originally Abendana or Ibn Dana (Arabic, إبن دانة ). Abendana means, "Son of a man who professes his religion."

Not all of the people who were of the name Abendana are still Pereira today. Pereira along with other Iberian names may be traced back to Abendana or Ibn Dana from the times of Hispania or Al-andalus.

[edit] Abendana Etymology

Abendana 1) Etymology: S: “ibn-dana” [Arabic] “son of a man who professes his religion”. <G: 1x Bendana>. {cf. Abendana Belmonte; Abendana Mendez; Bendan; Homem; Sardo}. - 2) Before 1800: descendants of the Abendana family later also used the surnames: Belmonte, de Brito, Mendes, Nahmias & Osorio; Abendana 1570 Spain; 1600 Lisbon = Lisboa, Portugal; 1598 Amsterdam, Netherlands from Portugal - a.k.a. Nuñez Pereira & Homem; 1618–1800 Hamburg or Altona, HH from Lisboa - a.k.a. Pereira Coutinho; 1634 Glückstadt, IZ; 1663 Cambridge, England from Amsterdam; 1681 London, England from Amsterdam; 1681 New York, U.S.A. - 3) After 1800: Altona, HH (1800)

(See "External links" at the bottom of this page for the source)

[edit] The Cross and the Pear Tree - A Sephardic Journey

The Cross and the Pear Tree is a book by Guatemalan author, Victor Perera, in which he traces and uncovers the history behind the Pereira name.

[edit] Variations

The name also exists in variations such as Pereyra, Perera, Perreira and others. In Portugal there are some families with variations of the name although Pereira is by far the most common. The variants of this name are more commonly found in other countries such as Spain. Pereire, for example, is a French variant.

[edit] People of the name Pereira


[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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