Show ContentsOliveira History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Oliveira, like many Spanish family names, is a proud sign of a rich and ancient ancestry. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Spain were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Spanish patronymic names emerged as early as the mid-9th century and were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins.

Early Origins of the Oliveira family

The surname Oliveira was first found in Aragon, an important Christian kingdom of medieval Spain. Today, Olivares is a city in the province of Seville having a population of 8,729 inhabitants as of 2005.

Early History of the Oliveira family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oliveira research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1137, 1148, 1170, 1229, 1235, 1238, 1282 and 1469 are included under the topic Early Oliveira History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oliveira Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Oliva, de Oliva, Olivas, Olivo, Olivos, Oliver, de Oliver, Olivé, Olive, Olivera, Oliveras, Olivero, Oliveros, de Oliveros, Olivérez, Oliverez, Olives, Olivar, Olivares and many more.

Early Notables of the Oliveira family

Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Oliveira Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oliveira Ranking

In the United States, the name Oliveira is the 3,640th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Oliveira is ranked the 1,435th most popular surname with an estimated 4,014 people with that name. 2


United States Oliveira migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oliveira Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Antonio Oliveira, who landed in New York in 1795 3

New Zealand Oliveira migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Oliveira Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Leocadia de Oliveira, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adelaide" in 1858 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Oliveira (post 1700) +

  • Nathan Oliveira (1928-2010), American painter, printmaker, and sculptor
  • Rene O. Oliveira, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State House of Representatives 37th District 5
  • Jiranimo Oliveira, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 1980 5
  • Walewska Oliveira (1979-2023), Brazilian volleyball player born as Walewska Moreira de Oliveira. She was in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000. She won a bronze medal with the women's national team in Sydney, Australia, and a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
  • Edir Pedro de Oliveira (1950-2022), Brazilian politician, Member of the Brazilian Labour Party, Mayor of Gravataí from 1993 to 1997
  • Leandro Prates de Oliveira (1982-2021), Brazilian two-time gold medalist track and field athlete who specialised in the 1500 metres
  • Vítor Manuel Oliveira (1953-2020), Portuguese football midfielder and manager
  • Luís Carlos Bertolo Oliveira (b. 1994), Portuguese footballer who plays for Alcanenense as a central defender
  • Arolde de Oliveira (1937-2020), Brazilian soldier, economist and politician, Member of the Federal Senate for Rio de Janeiro (2019-2020)
  • Anacleto Cordeiro Gonçalves de Oliveira (1946-2020), Portuguese Roman Catholic bishop
  • ... (Another 25 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Shadow Time Settlers (Retrieved 5th November 2010), retrieved from http://shadowsoftime.co.nz/settlers.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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