Katy Perry is one of the most unique pop stars out there. Her complicated relationship with her family, as well as her constant struggle with depression, has led to a lot of questions about her. One of the most common ones is about her lineage, and whether she is Portuguese.

Yes, Katy Perry is of Portuguese descent. Specifically, she hails from the Azores region, which is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. She is also Irish, English, and German. Her relationship to the Azores can be traced to her great-great-grandparents, three of whom were from the Archipelago.

Let’s take a deeper look at Katy Perry’s roots.

The ‘Perry’ in Katy Perry is Portuguese

Those well acquainted with Katy’s life will know that Katy was born as Katy Elizabeth Hudson, and she even released a Christian gospel album under that name. When she finally released her first pop album, she was using the name ‘Katy Perry’. The Perry, as it turns out, is not random at all.

Perry actually comes from Pereira, which is her mother’s maiden name. Pereira is a very common name in Portuguese, and its literal translation is ‘pear tree’.

It is her mother’s family that is Portuguese. As we explore later on, Katy is actually very proud of her Portuguese roots, and has stayed in touch with her extended family.

If you want to be even more specific, Katy’s origins are from Horta, one of the capital cities of the Azores region. The city lies in the Faial island, one of the 9 islands that make up the Azores region. As of 2011, the island had a population of only 15000.

On her father’s side, she is as American as they come. She has roots in Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee among a few other states. Originally, the father’s side of the family is of English, German, and Irish descent.

Katy’s family has adorned numerous surnames. Apart from Hudson, other names include Denis, Craig, Vilsack, Blank, and Brace. These names are from her father’s side. As such, it was surprising that Katy decided to opt for her mother’s maiden name when she was looking for a stage name.

Katy Speaks a Little Portuguese

As we stated before, Katy is proud of her heritage. In fact, she speaks a little bit of Portuguese herself. In 2018, Katy spoke a few words of Portuguese when touring Brazil. Keeping consistent with her positive image, she called a fan onto the stage and said something along the lines of “All we need is love”.

She also used other common phrases while on the stage such as ‘thank you’ and ‘beautiful to die’. She has openly admitted in interviews that her Tetravo (great-great-grandfather) is Portuguese, and she is a little Portuguese herself.

Katy even followed in her mother’s footsteps and married an Englishman, which sadly did not end well for her.

It’s great to see that Katy has stayed in touch with both her European as well as her Portuguese roots. Perhaps, we may even see her write a song in Portuguese one day?