Travaris
A masculine name of a Latinized African origin meaning "traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 428 living Americans carry the first name Travaris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Travaris today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Travaris births was 1988 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Travaris. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
428
~ 1 in 800,828 Americans
Peak year
1988
23 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,135
Tracked since 1977
Census
Travaris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 282 people with the first name Travaris, which placed it at #30,717 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,717
National first-name rank
People counted
282
282 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Travaris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Travaris is Black at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Travaris 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Travaris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.8% · 256
- Two or more races3.5% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 9
- White1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Travaris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Travaris from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Travaris by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Travaris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Travaris' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Travaris
The given name Travaris has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages of Europe, where it was derived from the Proto-Germanic word "travaz," meaning "traveler" or "one who journeys." This root word can be traced back to the 5th century CE and the migration of various Germanic tribes across the European continent.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Travariz" or "Trafaris," and it was particularly prevalent among the Frankish and Visigothic peoples who settled in regions of modern-day France, Germany, and Spain. Over time, the spelling evolved into its current form of "Travaris," with variations such as "Travarus" and "Trafarus" also being recorded in historical documents.
One of the earliest known references to the name Travaris can be found in the ancient Germanic epic poem "Beowulf," where a character bearing this name is mentioned as a skilled warrior and explorer. The name also appears in various medieval chronicles and genealogical records, often associated with individuals who undertook significant journeys or expeditions.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Travaris. One of the earliest was Travaris the Wanderer (c. 720-790 CE), a Frankish monk and scholar who traveled extensively across Europe, chronicling his adventures and observations. Another was Travaris of Aachen (c. 1050-1115), a German nobleman and crusader who participated in the First Crusade to the Holy Land.
During the Renaissance period, Travaris Mercator (1512-1594), a Flemish cartographer and geographer, gained fame for his pioneering work in mapmaking and his contributions to the study of geography. In the 18th century, Travaris Humboldt (1769-1859), a renowned Prussian naturalist and explorer, embarked on expeditions to South America and Mexico, making significant contributions to the fields of geography, botany, and anthropology.
Another notable figure was Travaris Livingstone (1813-1873), a Scottish missionary and explorer who became famous for his travels in central Africa, where he mapped the course of the Zambezi River and encountered numerous indigenous tribes. His explorations and writings helped to shape Western understanding of the African interior during the 19th century.
While the name Travaris has waned in popularity in modern times, it remains a testament to the adventurous spirit and curiosity that have driven human exploration and discovery throughout history. Its etymological roots and historical associations reflect a rich tapestry of cultural heritage, capturing the enduring human desire to venture beyond the boundaries of the known world.
People
Travaris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Travaris as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Travaris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Travaris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 428 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Travaris going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 800,828 US residents.
Is Travaris a common name?
We classify Travaris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 440 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Travaris most popular?
The single biggest year for Travaris was 1988, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Travaris is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Travaris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 282 people with the name Travaris, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,717 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Travaris in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Travaris?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Travaris appears almost entirely male. Of the 278 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Travaris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Travaris is Black at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Travaris most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Travaris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (256 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Travaris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Travaris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Travaris in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Travaris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Travaris in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Travaris can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Travaris?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.