Serra Family History

Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan: topographic name from Italian, Portuguese, Catalan serra ‘ridge or chain of hills’ (Latin serra ‘saw’). Italian: habitational name from any of various places named with serra ‘ridge’ (see 1 above), as for example Serra d’Aniello and Serra Pedace (Cosenza), Serra San Bruno (Vibo Valentia), Serracapriola (Foggia). Catalan: habitational name from any of various places, in Valencia and Catalonia, named Serra or with Serra, as for example Serra d’Almos or Serra d’en Galceran. Catalan (Serrà): topographic name for somebody who lived by a sierra, from Catalan serrà, an adjective derived from serra ‘mountain range’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press