2000
#2,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,979
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.81
Uncommon Last name
Nevarez
A habitational surname derived from the place name Nevares, referring to someone from Nevares in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,559 Americans carry the last name Nevarez. That puts it at #2,195 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,468 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nevarez 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
19K
1 in 18,468
Census rank
#2,195
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,184 bearers of the surname Nevarez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2195th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nevarez
The surname Nevarez is of Spanish origin, originating in the regions of Castile and Andalusia during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "nevada," meaning "snowfall," which suggests a toponymic connection to a place name associated with snowy or mountainous terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nevarez can be found in the Cartulario de Cuellar, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, where it appears as "Nevarez de Cuellar." This indicates that the name may have been associated with the town of Cuellar in the province of Segovia, Castile.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Nevarez was Juan Nevarez, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands alongside Juan Rejón in the 1480s. He was born in Seville, Andalusia, around 1450 and played a crucial role in the subjugation of the indigenous Guanche population.
Another prominent individual with the Nevarez surname was Pedro Nevarez de Santoyo, a Spanish military commander and nobleman who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He served as the Alcalde (magistrate) of the fortress of Salobreña in Granada and was involved in the final stages of the Reconquista against the Moorish Kingdom of Granada.
In the 17th century, Father Juan Nevarez was a Jesuit missionary who traveled to New Spain (present-day Mexico) and established missions among the indigenous populations. He was born in Cádiz, Andalusia, in 1598 and spent several years working in the region of Baja California, where he helped convert and educate the local tribes.
During the 18th century, Miguel Nevarez was a prominent Spanish artist and painter from Seville. He was known for his religious works and portraits, which adorned many churches and noble households in Andalusia. He was born in 1725 and died in 1802, leaving behind a significant artistic legacy.
Throughout its history, the surname Nevarez has been associated with various place names and alternate spellings, such as Nevárez, Nevares, and Nevares de Santoyo, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic evolutions within the Spanish-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nevarez
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Nevarez 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 Nevarez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.0% · 15,210
- White4.7% · 762
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 59
- Two or more races0.4% · 59
- Black or African American0.3% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nevarez
Nevarez 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
#2,188
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,607
+3,628 bearers (+28.0%)
Per 100,000 5.63
Rank movement Up 371 places
2020
#2,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,184
-423 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 5.41
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,559 | 12,979 | 4.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,188 | 16,607 | 5.63 | +3,628 bearers (+28.0%) | Up 371 places |
| 2020 | #2,195 | 16,184 | 5.41 | -423 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 7 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 Nevarez 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 | #2,188 | #2,195 | -0.3% |
| Count | 16,607 | 16,184 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.63 | 5.41 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nevarez bearers went from 16,607 to 16,184 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,188 to #2,195.
FAQ
Nevarez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nevarez?
Name Census estimates that about 18,559 living Americans carry the surname Nevarez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,468 residents.
How common is Nevarez?
Nevarez ranks #2,195 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,184 people with the surname Nevarez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Nevarez.
Has Nevarez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nevarez went from 16,607 recorded bearers to 16,184. That is a decrease of 423 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,188 to #2,195.
What does the Census say about the background of Nevarez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Nevarez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (15,210 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nevarez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.0%), White (4.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Nevarez (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 Nevarez mean?
A habitational surname derived from the place name Nevares, referring to someone from Nevares in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. 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 Nevarez (5.41 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 Nevarez?
If you just want to know how many people are called Nevarez, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.