The Oliveira surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,055 people carried this name — #1,887 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,500 people counted. That is up 33% from 14,341 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Oliveira surname
Either oliveira (“olive tree”) or from ulveira, ulvária.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Oliveira» (Portuguese), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
5,834 people named Oliveira live in Switzerland.
They live in all 26 of Switzerland’s cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 4,905 people named Oliveira live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 697 people named Oliveira.
Most of them — 377 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 70 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 40 people named Oliveira live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
68 people named Oliveira are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Oliveira in American newspapers,
1849–1899.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,764 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Oliveira,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Fernão de Oliveira 1507–1581 · writer -
António de Oliveira Bernardes 1660–1732 · painter -
João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha 1790–1876 · military personnel -
Francisco de Assis e Oliveira Borges 1806–1879 · politician -
Antônio d'Oliveira Castro 1847–
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 209 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Oliveira.
- Oliva 19,513 · U.S. census
- Olivan 580 · U.S. census
- Olivar 1,456 · U.S. census
- Olivares 23,982 · U.S. census
- Olivari 258 · U.S. census
- Olive 5,712 · U.S. census
- Oliver 115,900 · U.S. census
- Olivera 9,108 · U.S. census
- Oliveras 2,591 · U.S. census
- Oliveri 3,357 · U.S. census
- Olivero 1,842 · U.S. census
- Olives 137 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Oliveira is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.