Frequency: (655)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Italian (northwest and Liguria): variant of Ferrara.
2. Italian: habitational name from various places named with this word: Ferrera Cenisio (now Moncenisio) in Piemonte; and Ferrera di Varese and Ferrera Erbognone, both in Lombardy.
3. Spanish and Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived near a forge or ironworks, from Latin ferraria.
GIVEN NAMES: Spanish 17%; Italian 10%. Carlos (3), Manuel (3), Rafael (3), Augusto (2), Francisco (2), Jorge (2), Jose (2), Luis (2), Miguel (2), Pedro (2), Ramona (2), Ricardo (2); Salvatore (6), Antonio (5), Biagio (2), Domenic (2), Sal (2), Aldo, Angelo, Attilio, Carmelo, Elio, Enrico.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
