2000
#106,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Bavier
A surname derived from a French place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 188 Americans carry the last name Bavier. That puts it at #113,565 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,823,161 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bavier surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
188
1 in 1,823,161
Census rank
#113,565
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
164
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 164 bearers of the surname Bavier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 113565th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bavier
The surname BAVIER is believed to have originated in Germany and France during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from the Old German word "bavara," which means "dweller by the streams." This suggests that the name was initially given to people who lived near rivers or streams.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval German documents dating back to the 13th century. Here, a person named Johannes Bavier is mentioned in a land transaction from the year 1287.
In France, the name appears to have been more commonly spelled as "Bavière," which is the French word for "Bavaria." This may indicate that some bearers of the name were originally from the Bavarian region of Germany before migrating to France.
During the 16th century, the BAVIER surname can be found in various records from the Alsace region, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The name was often associated with the town of Bâviere, which is derived from the same root as the surname.
One notable figure with the BAVIER surname was Jean-Baptiste Bavier (1675-1741), a French mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was a member of the prestigious French Academy of Sciences.
Another individual of note was Christoph Bavier (1615-1690), a German theologian and philosopher. He served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg and was known for his writings on ethics and natural law.
In the 18th century, a family of Baviers settled in the Netherlands, where they became prominent merchants and traders. One member of this family, Willem Bavier (1732-1801), was a successful businessman and philanthropist who donated funds to establish a school for underprivileged children in Amsterdam.
The BAVIER name also had a presence in England, where it was sometimes anglicized as "Bavier" or "Bavior." One record from the 17th century mentions a Thomas Bavior who was a landowner in the county of Wiltshire.
Lastly, in the United States, the BAVIER surname can be traced back to German and French immigrants who arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries. One notable American bearer of the name was Henry Bavier (1813-1892), a politician and lawyer who served as a judge in the state of Wisconsin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bavier
Among Census respondents with the surname Bavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bavier bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bavier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 137
- Two or more races7.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.2% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bavier
Bavier appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
-23 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,570 places
2020
#113,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 164
+32 bearers (+24.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 15,482 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #106,477 | 155 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 22,570 places |
| 2020 | #113,565 | 164 | 0.05 | +32 bearers (+24.2%) | Up 15,482 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bavier surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #129,047 | #113,565 | 12.0% |
| Count | 132 | 164 | 24.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 37.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bavier bearers went from 132 to 164 (+24.2% change). The surname moved up 15,482 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #113,565.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bavier
FAQ
Bavier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bavier?
Name Census estimates that about 188 living Americans carry the surname Bavier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,823,161 residents.
How common is Bavier?
Bavier ranks #113,565 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 164 people with the surname Bavier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (188), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bavier.
Has Bavier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bavier went from 132 recorded bearers to 164. That is an increase of 32 (+24.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #129,047 to #113,565.
What does the Census say about the background of Bavier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (4.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bavier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (137 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bavier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Two or More Races (7.3%), Hispanic (4.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bavier (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bavier mean?
A surname derived from a French place name. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bavier (0.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Bavier?
You can see how many people are called Bavier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.