Cabrera History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Portugal
Spain

From the ancient and beautiful Italian island of Sicily emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Cabrera. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Sicily is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, and does not necessarily denote nobility.

Early Origins of the Cabrera family

The surname Cabrera was first found in the Sicilian city of Aragona. In 1040, Ponzo Cabrera was Viscount of Cabrera, Girona, and Anger.

Early History of the Cabrera family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cabrera research. The years 1368, 1510, 1740 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Cabrera History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cabrera Spelling Variations

Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Cabrera include Cabral, Cabras, Cabrera, Cabrini, Cabrone, Cabrino, Cabrotto, Cabrotti, Cabrilli, Cabroni, Cabrillo, Cabrollo and many more.

Early Notables of the Cabrera family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was

Bernardo Cabrera in 1368, who was the head of a very prestigious nobility

Cabrera World Ranking

In the United States, the name Cabrera is the 803^rd most popular surname with an estimated 37,305 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Cabrera is ranked the 1,930^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,211 people with that name. 2 And in South America, the name Cabrera is the 46^th popular surname with an estimated 88 people with that name. 3

Cabrera migration to the United States +

An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Cabrera arrived in North America very early:

Cabrera Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Luis de Cabrera to America in 1512
Pedro de Cabrera to Florida in 1538

Cabrera Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Gregoria Cabrera, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 4
Petronila Clara Cabrera, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1810 4
Luis De Cabrera, who arrived in America in 1812 4
Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera of Seville, who voyaged first to Peru and later to Argentina, where he founded the city of Cordoba
Juan de Cabrera, aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of Peru Núñez de Vela
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cabrera migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Cabrera Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Francisco De Cabrera, who landed in Cuba in 1834 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Cabrera (post 1700) +

Rosa María Cabrera, American professor emeritus
Nestor L Cabrera, American fashion designer
Waldo Cabrera, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly 6th District, 2008 6
Cesar Benito Cabrera, American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius, 2006-Seychelles, 2006-Comoros, 2006- 6
Cesar Cabrera, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 2004 6
Angelina Cabrera, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from New York; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1972 6
Luisa Georgina "Gina" Cabrera Parada (1928-2022), Cuban film, television, stage and voice actress
Nelson David Cabrera (b. 1983), Paraguayan football defender
Wílmer Cabrera Linares (b. 1967), retired Colombian football defender and current assistant coach
Diego Aroldo Cabrera Flores (b. 1982), Bolivian football striker
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html