2000
#8,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,687
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.37
Rare Last name
Alvares
A patronymic surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin meaning "son of Álvaro," derived from the Old Germanic name Alfarr.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,618 Americans carry the last name Alvares. That puts it at #12,884 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,922 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alvares 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alvares with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 130,922
Census rank
#12,884
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,283 bearers of the surname Alvares in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12884th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvares, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alvares
The surname Alvares has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Portugal and Spain, where it originated during the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Alvarus, which was a compound name formed from the elements "alf" meaning "elf" and "wari" meaning "guard" or "protector."
One of the earliest known records of the name Alvares can be found in the Cartulário do Mosteiro de Pendorada, a medieval Portuguese cartulary dating back to the 11th century. This document contains references to individuals with the surname Alvares, indicating their presence in the region during that time.
In Spain, the name Alvares appeared in various historical documents, such as the Anales Toledanos, a chronicle from the 13th century that mentions individuals with this surname. The earliest recorded bearer of the name in Spain was Alvar Núñez Álvares, a noble from the Kingdom of León who lived in the 11th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the surname Alvares. One of the most prominent was Afonso Alvares, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who lived from around 1285 to 1357. He is credited with discovering the Canary Islands in 1341 and played a significant role in the early stages of Portuguese maritime exploration.
Another distinguished individual with the surname Alvares was Manuel Alvares, a Portuguese Jesuit priest and grammarian who lived from 1526 to 1583. He is best known for his influential work on the grammar of the Portuguese language, "De Institutione Grammatica Libri Tres," published in 1572.
In the literary realm, Gonçalo Álvares, a Portuguese poet and chronicler who lived from around 1360 to 1428, is noteworthy for his work "Crónica do Infante Santo D. Fernando," a chronicle of the life of Prince Ferdinand of Portugal.
The surname Alvares also has connections to place names in the Iberian Peninsula. For example, the town of Álvares in northern Portugal is believed to have derived its name from the surname, reflecting the presence of families with this surname in the area.
Towards the end of the 15th century, with the Age of Discovery and the expansion of the Portuguese Empire, the surname Alvares spread to other parts of the world, particularly to Portuguese colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where it continues to be found among descendants of Portuguese settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alvares
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvares, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Alvares 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 Alvares surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.6% · 1,931
- White10.1% · 230
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 75
- Two or more races1.0% · 23
- Black or African American0.8% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alvares
Alvares 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
#8,673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,789
+102 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 407 places
2020
#12,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,283
-1,506 bearers (-39.7%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 4,211 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,266 | 3,687 | 1.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,673 | 3,789 | 1.28 | +102 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 407 places |
| 2020 | #12,884 | 2,283 | 0.76 | -1,506 bearers (-39.7%) | Down 4,211 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 Alvares 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 | #8,673 | #12,884 | -48.6% |
| Count | 3,789 | 2,283 | -39.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 0.76 | -40.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alvares bearers went from 3,789 to 2,283 (-39.7% change). The surname moved down 4,211 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,673 to #12,884.
FAQ
Alvares surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alvares?
Name Census estimates that about 2,618 living Americans carry the surname Alvares. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,922 residents.
How common is Alvares?
Alvares ranks #12,884 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,283 people with the surname Alvares. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,618), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alvares.
Has Alvares become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alvares went from 3,789 recorded bearers to 2,283. That is a decrease of 1,506 (-39.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,673 to #12,884.
What does the Census say about the background of Alvares?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvares, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.6%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Alvares in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (1,931 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alvares appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (84.6%), White (10.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Alvares (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 Alvares mean?
A patronymic surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin meaning "son of Álvaro," derived from the Old Germanic name Alfarr. 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 Alvares (0.76 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 Americans have the surname Alvares?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.