Last Name Pissarro

The surname Pissarro is of French origin and has its roots traced back to a family of artists from the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, then under Danish rule. The Pissarros were descendants of a free black man named Abraham Pétion who worked as a cook on a Danish merchant ship in the late 18th century. He later settled on the island and had several children with Francoise Delmas, a slave woman who was eventually granted her freedom. One of their descendants, Frédéric Daniel Theodore Amaury Pissarro (1830-1903), was the most notable member of the family. He moved to France in 1855 and became a significant artist and an influential figure in the Impressionist movement. It is through his success as an artist that the surname Pissarro gained recognition in France and beyond.

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The meaning and origin of the last name Pissarro

The surname Pissarro is of French-Creole origin, derived from the Portuguese name "Pereira," which means "of the pear tree." It was initially brought to the Caribbean islands by Portuguese settlers and later adopted by people of mixed African and European descent, also known as Creoles. One notable bearer of this surname is the French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, who was born on the island of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies (now part of the U.S. Virgin Islands). His family moved to Paris in 1855, where he became a prominent figure in the art world, making significant contributions to Impressionism and inspiring many contemporary artists.

Geographical distribution of the last name Pissarro

The surname Pissarro is predominantly associated with French and Haitian ancestry, stemming from the artist Camille Pissarro who was born on the island of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies (now part of the U.S. Virgin Islands) to a Jewish family of Portuguese Sephardi descent. Pissarro immigrated to France and became a prominent figure in the Impressionist movement. The surname has since spread among French and Haitian communities, as well as to other parts of the world due to diaspora and migration. In France, the name is most concentrated in regions such as Paris, Normandy, and Brittany. In North America, it can be found primarily in urban centers with significant French-speaking populations, like Montreal in Canada and New Orleans in Louisiana, USA.

Variants and spellings of the last name Pissarro

The last name Pissarro is of French origin, but it has various spellings due to differences in transliteration and transcription over time. Some common variants include Pisarro, Pissaro, Pissarros, and Pisarros. These variations may arise from different phonetic interpretations or from attempts to Anglicize the name for use in English-speaking countries. The name is of Sephardi Jewish origin, with the family originally being from Portugal before settling in Paris, France. Notable bearers of this surname include the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, who was born on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas to a French father and a Jewish Portuguese-Jewish mother.

Famous people with the last name Pissarro

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was a prominent French Impressionist painter born on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas to a Jewish family of Portuguese and West Indian descent. He is often considered one of the founding fathers of Impressionism, along with Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and others. Pissarro moved to Paris in 1855, where he met and was influenced by Courbet and Millet. His works capture the industrialization and modernization of Paris as well as rural landscapes around the city. He played a significant role in encouraging and mentoring younger artists, including Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh. After living in London from 1870 to 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War, Pissarro returned to Paris where he continued to paint until his death. His work has been exhibited extensively and is held in many prestigious collections around the world.

Genealogical research on the last name Pissarro

The Pissarro family is a notable French art dynasty originating from Venezuela. Camille Pissarro, born in 1830, was a key figure in the development of Impressionism. He was the son of Abraham Gabriel Pissarro, a baggage handler of Jewish descent who emigrated from Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies to Paris in 1802. Camille's mother, Rachel, was French Creole. Among Camille's descendants are his sons Lucien and Georges Pissarro, also painters, as well as the grandson Paul-Émile Pissarro, an art historian and museum curator. The Pissarro family has made significant contributions to the art world, leaving a lasting impact on French Impressionism and beyond.

Last name distribution maps

Sources & References

• INSEE statistics on the surname "pissarro"
• Global distribution of the surname on Forebears.io
• Wikipedia Article

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NomOrigine Team
Passionate about genealogy, name history, and linguistics, we have been analyzing the origins of names for over 3 years. Our content is based on verified historical, etymological, and statistical data.
Last updated : 29 July 2025

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