How common is the surname Freire?

2,477 people in the United States had the surname Freire in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 124,645 Americans. It ranked 12,514th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Freire?

Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (1921–1997), followed by Nelson Freire.

Where is the surname Freire most common?

Wikidata records people named Freire in Brazil and Argentina.

Is the surname Freire getting more or less common?

More common. 1,889 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,477 in 2010, up 31%.

The surname Freire

A Spanish surname, carried by 2,477 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex F660

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Freire is more common than 92.3% of them.

Origin

Spanish origin

Borrowed from Spanish Freire, from Galician Freire.

One of 992 Spanish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,477 people named Freire in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 124,645 Americans. That is up 31% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,889.

#12,514

rank among US surnames

2,477

people in 2010

0.8

per 100,000 Americans

+31.1%

change since 2000 (was #14,482)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#12,510	Shain	2,478	124,595
#12,514	Freire	2,477	124,645
#12,519	Ratzlaff	2,476	124,695
#12,520	Dampier	2,475	124,746

Who is named Freire

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

66% of people named Freire identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), 30% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as Black (not Hispanic).

Hispanic or Latino (any race) 66%
White (not Hispanic) 30%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Native American, Multiracial are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Famous Freires

8 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Paulo Freire
Brazilian educator and philosopher (1921–1997)
Nelson Freire
Brazilian pianist (1944–2021)
Nicolás Freire
Argentinian footballer, born 1994
Nilcéia Freire
Brazilian medical, academic and researcher (1953-2019)
Roberto Freire
Brazilian politician, born 1942
Daniel Freire
Argentine actor, born 1961
Federico Freire
Argentinian footballer, born 1990
Patrício Pitbull
Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, born 1987

Notable Freires come mostly from Brazil (5) and Argentina (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Freire

Freire has the Soundex code F660, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F660.

Other Spanish surnames

All 992 Spanish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Freire come from?: Borrowed from Spanish Freire, from Galician Freire.
How common is the surname Freire?: 2,477 people in the United States had the surname Freire in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 124,645 Americans. It ranked 12,514th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Freire?: In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Freire identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 30% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Freire?: Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (1921–1997), followed by Nelson Freire.
Where is the surname Freire most common?: Wikidata records people named Freire in Brazil and Argentina.
Is the surname Freire getting more or less common?: More common. 1,889 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,477 in 2010, up 31%.