Ferreira History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Italy
Portugal
Spain

Venice, one of the oldest and most beautiful island regions of Italy, is the esteemed birthplace of numerous prominent families, including the family that bears the surname Ferreira. 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 are characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most common type of family name found in Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's givenname, names derived from occupations are also found. Occupational surnames, which are less common than other types of surnames in Italy, date back to the feudal era. However, under the Feudal System, occupational names did not become hereditary until the offices themselves became hereditary. It was only after an occupation was inherited by several generations in lineal descent that occupational names came to be applied to entire families, and so became a hereditary surname. The surname Ferreira comes from the Latin word ferro which means iron. The family likely were blacksmiths.

Early Origins of the Ferreira family

The surname Ferreira was first found in Modena (Etruscan: Mutna; Latin: Mutina; Modenese: Mòdna), where records can be found in 1271 of the Ferrari family living there at the Villa Mugnano.

Saint Vincent Ferrer, OP (1350-1419) was a Valencian Dominican friar and preacher, who gained acclaim as a missionary and a logician. He is honored as a saint of the Catholic Church and other churches of Catholic traditions. His feast day is April 5th.

Early History of the Ferreira family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ferreira research. The years 1471, 1480, 1499, 1508, 1530, 1546, 1584, 1603, 1653, 1655, 1662, 1681, 1850 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Ferreira History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferreira Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Ferreira include Ferraro, Ferrari, Ferrario, Ferraris, Ferrai, Ferrero, Ferrarese, Ferreri, Ferrèri, Ferreli, Ferriero, Ferrieri, Ferrerio, Fevrero, Fevriero, Ferrer, Fer, Ferr, Fare, De Ferrari, Deferrari, Defferrari, De Ferraris, Ferrarello, Ferraretto, Ferrarini, Ferrarin, Ferrarotti, Ferrarone, Ferraron and many more.

Early Notables of the Ferreira family

Prominent among members of the family was Giovanni Matteo Ferrari, a doctor in Grado and the court physician to Francesco Sforza; Bartolomeo Ferrari was an ecclesiastic in Milan who studied law before dedicating his life to the church in 1499; Gaudenzio Ferarri (1471-1546), an Italian painter; Antonio Ferrero (died 1508), an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal; Lodovico Ferrari was a famous mathematician in Bologna in 1530; Benedetto Ferrari of Reggio (1603-1681) was a composer and in 1653 to 1662 was maestro of the chapel to the Duke of Modena; Giovanni Baptista 1...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ferreira Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ferreira World Ranking

In the United States, the name Ferreira is the 1,591^st most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Ferreira is ranked the 795^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,753 people with that name. 3 And in France, the name Ferreira is the 170^th popular surname with an estimated 19,585 people with that name. 4 South Africa ranks Ferreira as 204^th with 31,855 people. 5

Ferreira migration to the United States +

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Ferreira

Ferreira Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Antonio Ferreira, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 6
Juan DeDios Ferreira, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1852 6
Jose Ferreira, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1854 6
R Ferreira, aged 23, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1854 6
Joaquin Ferreira, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ferreira Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Adelina Ferreira, aged 44, who immigrated to the United States from St. Michael's, Portugal, in 1906
Adelino N. Ferreira, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States from Frossos, Portugal, in 1907
Agostinho Ferreira, aged 23, who settled in America from Porto Mor, Portugal, in 1911
Abel Tavares Ferreira, aged 24, who settled in America from Gouvcia, Portugal, in 1911
Alberto Ferreira, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States from Nasbainhos, Portugal, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ferreira (post 1700) +

Alex Ferreira (b. 1994), American half-pipe skier. He competed in the 2019 Winter X Games XIX, placing first in the Men's Ski Superpipe
Sky Ferreira (b. 1992), American model, singer, songwriter, and actress
John Ferreira, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Rhode Island, 1960, 1964 (alternate)
Edemar Cid Ferreira (1943-2024), Brazilian economist, banker, and art collector
Patricia Ferreira (1958-2023), Spanish film and television director and screenwriter, born in Madrid
Felipe Diogo Bernardes Ferreira (2002-2023), known as Felipe Diogo, was a Brazilian professional footballer
Carlos Eduardo Moreira Ferreira (1939-2022), Brazilian businessman and politician, Member of the Liberal Front Party, President of the Confederação Nacional da Indústria from 2002 to 2006
Joel Eduardo Neves Hasse Ferreira (1944-2022), Portuguese politician and a Member of the European Parliament (2004-2009)
Sérgio Henrique Ferreira (1934-2016), Brazilian physician and pharmacologist who led the way of the discovery of ACE inhibitors, the widely used anti-hypertension drug
Vergílio Ferreira (1916-1996), Portuguese writer
... (Another 18 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Battista di Crollalanza, Giovanni, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico 3 vols. Pisa: Arnaldo Forini Editore, 1886. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
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)